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.MAIiKI    CIUKK,    l-ATAHANfilKAI. 


The 

Conversion  of  the  Maoris 


BY  THE 

REV.  DONALD  MacDOUGALL,  B.  D. 


PUn.ADF.I.PHIA,    PA.: 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION  AND  SABBATH- 
SCHOOL  WORK, 
1899 


Copyright,  1899,  by 

The  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication 

AND  Sabbath-School  Work. 


IN  LOVING  MEMORY 
OF 

/BbB  3BeloveO  TRflite, 

MY  FELLOW-TRAVELER   THROUGH  ALL  THE 
SCENES  DEPICTED  HERE, 

Cbis  JDSooft  Is  DeDlcateO 

THOUGH    NOW,  ALAS,   SO   I^TE, 


i?14837 


CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

Preface ix 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  MAORIS. 
The  origin  of  the  Maoris. — Recent  researches. — Physiology. 
— Tattooing. —  Habitations. — Maori  house  in  the  museum 
at  Wellington. — Occupation. — Maori  canoe,  and  relics  in 
the  Auckland  museum. — The  Moa I 

CHAPTER  II. 

DISCOVERY  AND  CANNIBALISM. 
Tasman. — Cook. — Horrifying  stories. — Tohungas'  stories. — 
Sailors  married  Maori  women. — Maori  chiefs  visited 
Australia  and  England. — The  "  Boyd  "  massacre. — Pov- 
erty Bay  massacre. — Feeling  of  revenge. — Cruelties. — Im- 
provements in  dress,  home  and  living lO 

CHAPTER  III. 

LEGENDS  AND  SUPERSTITIONS. 
Language.  —  Polynesian  dialect.  —  Orators  at  land  court 
\Vanganui.  —  Legends. — Songs. — Proverbs. — Rowers. — 
Atua— native  god.— Tapu.— Muru.— The  supernatural 
power  of  the  Tohunga— (S.  P.  Smith).— Maori  supersti- 
tions.— Maoris  had  no  temple,  no  priestly  robe,  no  sac- 
rifice, no  conception  of  a  Supreme  Being. —  Souls  of  the 
departed  not  worshiped. — Baby  named  when  eight  days 
old. — Traits  of  character. — Moral  side  dark. — Cannibal- 
ism.—  How  tlicy  told  the  years,  months,  and  days.    .    .    .     17 


VI  CONTENT^;, 

CHAPTER  IV.  PACE 

GOVERNMENT  AND  WAR  CUSTOMS. 
Maoris  constituted  three  comniunities  —  nations  —  tribes  — 
families. — Marriage  civil  act. — Polygamy  common. — 
Domestic  afiection  not  strong. — Tribes  clannish. — War 
custom. — War  dance. — Cruelties  inflicted  on  the  van- 
quished.— Poem  on  a  Maori  chief 30 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  APOSTLE  OF  THE  MAORIS. 
His  early  life. — His  voyage  to  New  South  Wales. — Arrival  at 
Sydney. — Assuming  duties  and  increasing  responsibilities. 
— Opposition. — Loss  of  his  boys. — Chief  Te  Pahi. — Mr. 
Marsden  in  England  advocating  a  Maori  mission. — Suc- 
cessful.— Returned  to  Sydney. — Ruatara. — Sent  as  pioneer 
to  New  Zealand. — Maori  mission  suspended  for  five  years 
owing  to  the  "  Boyd  "  massacre. — The  ship  "  Active." — 
Wall  and  Rendall  sent  to  New  Zealand. — Returned. — 
Maori  chiefs  in  Sydney. — Marsden  sails  in  the  "  Active  " 
for  New  Zealand. — Acted  as  peacemaker  at  Wangaroa. — 
Landed  at  Bay  of  Islands. — Reception. — Land  secured. 
— Deed  signed. — Meetinghouse. — Flagstaff. — Marsden's 
first  sermon  in  New  Zealand. — Returned  to  Sydney  with 
young  chiefs. — Much  encouraged. — The  prospect  of  the 
mission. — Death  of  Ruatara. — Marsden's  influence  over 
the  natives. — Their  devotion  and  kindness. — Missionaries' 
trials. — Their  fidelity. — Marsden's  graphic  picture  of  the 
effective  power  of  the  gospel. — Rangi  the  first  convert. — 
Confessions  and  desires. — The  Scriptures  and  the  printing 
press. — The  fruit  of  the  mission. — Death  of  tlie  apostle   .     35 

CHAPTER  VI. 

TRIBAL   WAR. 
Hongi  the  Napoleon  of  New  Zealand. — Pomare. — Te  Whoro 
Whoro. — Ruaparaha. — His  conversion. — Barriers  to  the 
early  progress  of  the  mission. — Bishop  William  Williams' 
testimony 59 


CONTENTS.  VU 

CHAPTER  VII.  PAGE 

MISSIONARY    LEADERS. 

Rev.  Henry  Williams. — His  traits  of  character. — Christianity 
among  the  New  Zealanders. — Chapman's  experience. — 
The  three  mighty  men. — Bishop  G.  A.  Selwyn. — His 
work. — Bishop  J.  F.  Pompalier. — A  Maori's  opinion  of 
the  differing  Churches 66 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  METHODIST  MISSION. 
Rev.  Samuel  Leigh. — Experience. — Wangaroa  chosen  as  mis- 
sion station. — The  mission  staff. — Destruction  of  the  mis- 
sion properly. — Maugungu  selected  as  a  mission  station. — 
The  mission  cliurch  and  station. — Missionaries. — Great 
awakening. — Days  of  blessing. — Visible  fruit.  —  Rev. 
James  Buller's  journey  to  Cook's  Strait. —  Happy  deaths. 
— Native  martyrs. — Conversion  of  chiefs — Pita — Kaitoke 
— Patene. — Effect  of  baptism. — Chief  Ngakuku's  advice 
to  his  tribes. — Conversion  of  rival  chiefs. — Puna  and  Pan- 
apa. — French  sailors.-i<Thirty-five  thousand  Maoris  out  of 
fifty-six  thousand  nominal  Christians. — Testimonies. — 
Governor  Hobson. — Judge  Fenton. — Dr.  Thompson. — Sir 
George  Grey. — Rescue  of  the  crew  of  the  "  Delaware  "  by 
a  gallant  chief  and  wife. — Maoris'  regard  for  the  Sabbath. 
— Maoris'  kindness  to  sailors. — Fond  of  feasts 75 

CHAPTER  IX. 

A     HIT    OK    HISTORY. 

Attempt  to  colonize. — Failure. — Lawlessness  and  disobedience. 
— Scheme  to  establisli  an  indejiendcnt  native  government. 
— Maoris  claimed  New  Zealand  by  coufjucst  and  inherit- 
ance.— New  Zealand  Land  Comjiany. — Col.  Wakefield 
and  thirty-five  passengers  arrived  in  ship  "  Troy  "  at  Port 
Nicholson. — Purchased  land. — Arrival  of  several  ships. — 
Hobson. — The  growth  of  Wellington. — Captain  Hobson's 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

mission  to  New  Zealand. — The  treaty  of  Waitangi. — Hob- 
son  first  governor  of  New  Zealand. — New  Zealand  Com- 
pany.—Hone  Ileke  and  the  government. — The  Waikato 
tribe. — The  Maori  king. — Lesson  from  the  candle  and  the 
wick. — \Vm.  Thompson. — The  war. — Sir  George  Grey. — 
King  Tawhiao's  speech. — Maoris  subjects  of  the  queen. 
— Hau  Hau  apostasy. — Te  Kooti. — The  demoralizing 
effect  of  war 91 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  MAORI  OF  TO-DAY. 
Premier  Sedden's  influence. — Surveyor's  experience. — Hone 
Heke. — Parahaka. — Prophet  Ti  White. — Who  is  respon- 
sible ? — The  Maori  population. — Hon.  Wm.  P.  Reeves. — 
Why  the  Maoris  are  dying  out. — Maoris  fond  of  horses. — 
Fond  of  Europeans. — Law  and  justice. — Churches. — Maori 
sermon. — Schools. — Members  of  Parliament. — Queen's 
jubilee. — Customs  and  habits. — Marriages. — Hospitable. 
— W^hat  the  Gospel  has  done  for  the  Maoris 108 

CHAPTER  XL 
Religion  in  New  Zealand 121 

CHAPTER  Xn. 
Education  in  New  Zealand 130 

CHAPTER  Xni. 
Samoa 136 

APPENDIX. 

I. — From  Sydney  to  Wellington 157 

IL — Auckland 196 

in. — Christ  Church 200 

IV. — Otago — Dunedin 207 


PREFACE. 

Profoundly  convinced,  by  what  I  have  seen 
and  learned  while  in  Xew  Zealand  of  the  tri- 
umph of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  in  the  conversion 
of  the  Maoris  from  cannibalism  to  Christianity, 
that  it  is  a  stronger  and  more  cogent  argument 
for  the  power  of  the  gospel  than  any  statement 
I  have  ever  read  in  apologetic  books ;  and  also 
quickened  by  the  hope  that  this  brief  story  of 
the  wonderful  conversion  of  these  cannibals 
may  convince  others  of  the  living  power  of 
modern  missions,  and  hasten  the  coming  of  our 
Lord,  I  now  olf'cr  this  book  to  all  who  long  for 
the  conversion  of  the  world. 

DoxALD  MacDougall. 


The  Conversion  of  the  Maoris. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE   MAORIS. 

The  origin  of  the  Maoris,  or  first  settlers  in 
New  Zealand,  is  lost  in  a  cloud  of  obscurity. 
There  is,  however,  a  legend  which  states  that  in 
the  year  1400  such  bitter  quarrels  arose  among 
the  inhabitants  of  Hawaiki,  an  island  in  the 
South  Pacific  Ocean,  that  a  chief  Te  Kupe  (or 
Kgahue)  sailed  away  from  it  in  his  canoe  to 
Astearoa — long  day,  which  he  called  the  North 
island  of  New  Zealand.  He  was  so  charmed 
with  it  that  ho  went  back  to  Ilawaiki,  and  in- 
duced some  of  the  settlers  there  to  return  with 
him  to  this  new-found  land.  They  fitted  up  a 
fleet  of  canoes  named  Aotea,  Arana,  Taiuni, 
Mata,  Atua,  Tabitunui,  Takamaru,  Kurahaupo, 
each  manned  })y  a  separate  chief,  and  started  for 
New  Zealand.  These  canoes,  taking  as  part  of 
their  cargo  the  kumara  (sweet  potato),  tora 
(])read  fruit),  hue  (gourd),  dogs,  pahiko  and  par- 
rots, landed  at  the  North  island,  and  scattered  a 

1 


2  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

tribal  race  of  Maoris,  each  with  its  separate  chief, 
over  the  hind.  The  names  of  these  chiefs  are 
carefully  preserved.  The  proverb,  "  The  seed  of 
our  coming  is  from  Ilawaiki  the  seed  of  man," 
now  common  among  the  Maoris,  originated  from 
this  emigration  from  the  "land  left  behind." 
Each  tribe  had  its  own  legendary  tradition, 
transmitted  from  father  to  son,  by  the  sacred 
tohungas, — the  wise  men  of  strong  memory, 
who  could  trace  their  genealogy  from  generation 
to  generation.  And  though  for  centuries  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  by  feuds  and  wars,  yet 
their  traditions  are  trustworthy.  They  all  agree 
that  their  ancestors  came  from  some  island  in  the 
Pacific.  So  strong  was  their  conviction  of  the 
existence  of  Hawaiki  that  some  fifty  years 
ago  a  large  double  canoe  was  fitted  up  by  an  ex- 
ploring party  who  went  in  search  of  it,  but  they 
never  returned.  Their  traditions,  legends  and 
language,  undoubtedly  designate  that  they  are  a 
branch  of  the  Polynesian  family. 

"  I  arrive  where  an  unknown  earth  is  under  my  feet, 
I  arrive  where  a  new  sky  is  above  me, 
I  arrive  at  this  land,  a  resting  place  for  me, 
O  spirit  of  the  earth  ! 
The  stranger  offers  his  heart  as  food  for  thee." 

Recent  researches  point  to  India,  to  the  plains 
and  foothills  of  the  Himalayas — stretching  to  the 


THE    MAORIS.  3 

Persian  Gulf — as  being  the  early  home  of  the 
Polynesians  of  which  race  the  Maoris  form  an 
important  factor.  It  is  supposed,  that  they  were 
gradually  forced  to  leave  India,  by  the  Aryans — 
a  more  numerous  and  powerful  force.  The  Poly- 
nesians being  great  navigators,  extended  their 
voN^ages  to  the  Pacific  and  the  North ;  about  the 
second  century  they  came  in  contact  with  the 
Malay  race — which  obliged  them  to  proceed 
further  to  the  Ilitiinga  or  rising  sun,  until  they 
reached  the  Fiji  Islands,  inhabited  by  the  Mela- 
nesian  and  Papuan,  and  finally  reached  Samoa  or 
Ilawaiki.  Com])inations  of  tribes  took  place 
between  the  Fiji-Polynesians  ;  and  their  warriors 
and  sailors  spread  far  and  wide  over  the  Pacific, 
conquering  and  occupying  other  islands,  until  at 
last  they  turned  their  faces  southwestward  and 
arrived  in  a  fleet  of  canoes  in  New  Zealand  in 
1350. 

"These  are  the  people  who  are  generally 
termed  Maoris,  and  who  on  their  arrival  and 
after  settling  down  in  the  land,  by  their  master- 
ful ways,  greater  intelligence,  force  of  character 
and  superior  })hysique,  eventually  became  the 
concjuerors  of  the  people  belonging  to  the  prior 
iiiigratir)n  into  the  Pacific,  whom  tlioy  found  in 
occuj)ation  of  these  islands."  (New  Zealand 
Ollicial  Year  P>ook,  1898,  p.  100.) 

These   earlv  ^Maoris   li.'id    brown    fiiccs,  bi-oad 


4  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

noses,  large  dark  eyes,  regular  white  teeth,  and 
black,  wavy  hair.  The  head  Avas  large  and  well 
developed.  The  men  were  broad  and  solidly 
built,  of  medium  height.  Some  of  them  were  as 
tall  as  six  feet,  and  six  feet  and  a  half.  The 
chiefs  were  proud  and  dignified  in  their  deport- 
ment, and  quick  in  their  movements.  Maoris 
had  large,  long  bodies  and  short  legs,  the  face 
calm  and  composed,  free  of  any  excitement ;  they 
lived  to  old  age. 

The  young  girls  were  good-looking ;  they  ma- 
tured early  and  became  prematurely  old,  and 
after  being  tattooed  they  lost  their  beauty.  The 
painful  process  of  tattooing  was  undergone  at  the 
age  of  puberty.  The  men's  faces,  hips  and  thighs 
were  tattooed  in  blue  spurts,  rings  and  curves. 
The  designs  of  the  chiefs  w^ere  very  elaborate. 
The  tattoo  or  the  moko,  forms  a  part  of  their  dress 
and  mark  of  rank.  The  women  were  tattooed 
on  their  lips,  chins,  and  the  upper  part  of  their 
faces.  They  had  little  crosses  on  their  hands, 
arms  and  breasts.  The  patient  was  laid  on  his 
back,  and  a  pattern  was  sketched  with  charcoal. 
Then  while  he  was  held,  the  lines  were  marked 
by  a  sharp  instrument  of  bone,  or  chisel.  The 
blood  which  came  from  the  cuts  was  wiped  off, 
and  a  pigment  was  rubbed  in.  Sometimes  it 
took  two  years  to  complete  the  design,  during 
which  time  the  patient  suffered  intensely  from 


THE    MAOKIS.  5 

the  pain  and  inflammation.  He  was  also  not 
permitted  to  handle  any  food  or  live  in  a  dwell- 
ing house.  Later  on,  when  some  of  the  chiefs 
sierned  the  title  deeds  of  estates  which  the  mis- 
sionaries  had  bought  from  them  they  drew  little 
pictures  of  their  moko  on  their  faces,  saying, 
"  That  is  me  and  no  one  else."  Tattooing,  since 
their  conversion  to  Christianity,  has  become  ex- 
tinct. 

Clad  in  a  breechcloth  only,  these  savage  Ma- 
oris made  their  huts  out  of  the  material  which 
grew  on  the  island.  They  were  about  four  feet 
high  and  built  of  tall  poles  with  broad  grass 
leaves  woven  between  them.  The  roofs  were 
thatched,  and  the  doorways  not  more  than  three 
feet  high.  The  mothers  had  to  stoop  so  much, 
going  through  these  entrances,  that  the  spines 
of  their  little  children,  who  were  strapped  upon 
their  backs,  were  often  hunched.  The  earthen 
floors  of  these  homes  were  hollowed  out  in  the 
center  so  that  a  person  could  stand  upright  in 
them.  ^Mats  were  spread  upon  them,  and  on 
these  the  whole  family  slept  at  night  with  their 
heads  to  the  walls,  and  their  feet  to  the  center, 
and  the  Are  in  a  corner  burning  all  night.  They 
had  wide  piazzas  round  their  houses  which  formed 
nice  dining  rooms  for  their  family  circles.  A 
cluster  of  these  dwellings  on  a  hill,  with  ditches 
between  them,  and  surrounded  by  high  fences, 


6  THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

formed  a  Maori  pa.  In  battle  clays,  the  Maoris 
used  to  light  in  these  ditches  with  their  javelins 
and  slings. 

In  the  Museum  at  "Wellington  is  a  famous 
Maori  house  ;  which  was  built  at  Turanga  in  1842, 
by  a  Maori  tribe  who  were  noted  throughout 
New  Zealand  for  their  excellent  carving.  It  Avas 
designed  by  a  native,  and  eighteen  different  na- 
tives were  employed  in  carving  the  figures.  In 
1866  it  was  bought  by  the  government  and 
brought  to  Wellington.  The  outside  is  covered 
with  wood  and  iron,  but  the  interior  is  about  as 
it  was  when  built.  The  house  is  forty-three  feet 
long,  and  eighteen  feet  wide.  The  roof  is  twelve 
feet  from  the  floor,  and  the  walls  are  seven  and 
fourteen  feet  high.  There  are  thirty-two  figures 
carved  in  totara  wood  on  the  sides  of  the  house. 
These  represent  the  ancestors  of  the  tribe.  The 
ridge  pole  is  of  heavy  wood.  The  house  is  a 
very  imposing  edifice. 

So  in  the  long  ago,  before  a  white  man's 
canoe  grated  on  the  sands  of  New  Zealand,  the 
wild  Maori  roamed  at  large,  savage,  untaught, 
unchristianized.  The  men  fished  in  the  sea  and 
lakes  and  caught  eels,  seals  and  sharks.  The 
flesh  of  the  last  they  dried  in  the  sun.  They 
hunted  and  ate  the  Avild  birds.  The  soil  was  dry 
and  sandy,  and  they  put  fine  gravel  from  the 
river   beds   on   it.     They   carried   this   in   close 


MAiilil    <   AU\  i;ii    II' 


THE    MAORIS.  7 

woven  baskets  on  their  backs.  After  the  gar- 
dens were  ready,  they  planted  the  sweet  potato, 
lily  roots,  and  the  gourd  from  which  they  had 
made  their  dishes ;  they  then  screened  them  in  from 
the  pigs.  When  Captain  Cook  landed  in  New 
Zealand,  he  saw  two  hundred  acres  under  crop. 
One  of  the  principal  foods  of  the  Maoris  was  lit- 
tle cakes  made  of  flour  from  dried  fern  roots. 
Human  flesh  was  a  great  delicacy.  The  way 
they  cooked  an  eel  Avas  quite  appetizing.  It 
was  wound  round  a  stick,  and  then  covered 
with  fragrant  leaves  fastened  to  the  stick  so  no 
air  could  get  in.  The  stick  was  placed  on  the 
ground  before  a  blazing  fire,  and  turned  about 
until  the  eel  was  ready  to  be  eaten. 

Besides  their  house  carpentering  and  farming, 
the  Maoris  made  their  canoes,  paddles,  fish- 
hooks, combs,  flutes,  spears,  etc.  They  also  did 
fine  carving.  The  women  cooked,  wove  baskets, 
caught  and  cleaned  shelllish,  gathered  wood, 
prepared  llax,  and  made  drinks  of  the  shrubs  and 
berries  which  grew  on  the  island. 

Among  the  Maori  relics  found  in  the  Auckland 
Museum,  is  a  war  canoe,  eighty  feet  long,  accom- 
modating one  hundred  rowers.  It  was  black 
and  red  and  the  carving  on  it  was  skillfully  done. 
There  are  many  s])cars  and  wea|)()ns  of  war  of 
vjirious  kinds.  There  is  a  carv<'(l  building  for 
storing  corn  and  potatoes  and  erected  on  high 


8  THE   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

posts  to  show  how  the  Maoris  used  to  build  so  as 
to  prevent  rats  getting  in  and  eating  the  corn. 
Among  other  things  there  are  preserved  heads 
of  Maoris,  hardened  in  some  preparation,  which 
with  their  grinding  teeth,  are  hideous  to  look 
at.  Some  of  the  carved  combs,  knives  and  forks 
are  really  beautiful. 

When  at  work  they  were  happy,  stimulating 
each  other  with  songs  and  by  sallies  of  wit. 
They  cut  down  large  trees  for  building  houses 
and  making  canoes  and  other  things.  Their 
canoes  were  of  all  sizes.  The  war  canoe  would 
carry  many  warriors.  They  cooked  their  food 
with  good  taste  and  cleanliness.  They  were  ex- 
pert yveavers.  The  Museums  of  New  Zealand 
have  large  collections  of  articles  made  by  the 
Maoris.  Some  of  them  are  very  fine  and  show 
great  ingenuity  and  fine  perception  of  the  har- 
mony of  color.  White  predominates,  as  it  was 
their  favorite  color. 

There  was  one  occupant  of  New  Zealand  which 
was  very  much  disturbed  by  the  arrival  of  the 
Maoris.  This  was  a  big,  wingless  bird  called  the 
Moa.  Nothing  remains  of  it  but  its  skeleton  and 
eggs  which  can  be  seen  in  Christ  Church  Museum. 
It  was  of  a  brown  color,  and  as  an  old  Maori  ex- 
pressed it,  "  as  high  as  one  man  standing  on  the 
shoulders  of  another  man."  The  average  height 
of  the  largest  was  about  thirteen  feet.     Its  neck 


THE   MAORIS.  9 

was  like  that  of  a  horse.  Its  head  was  small 
with  one  bright  red  patch  on  each  side.  It  had 
long,  strong  legs,  and  its  feet  were  black  and 
shiny.  It  ate  the  tall  tender  shoots  of  the  cab- 
bage trees,  and  laid  eggs  twelve  inches  long.  It 
was  very  fat  and  lazy,  but  could  fight  desperately 
with  its  feet.  The  Maoris  used  to  drive  the  bird 
from  one  group  of  natives  to  another,  until  it  was 
tired  out.     They  then  killed  and  ate  it. 


CHAPTER  11. 

DISCOVEEY   AND    CANNIBALISM. 

For  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  this 
native  race  lived  alone  in  this  sequestered  spot, 
working,  eating,  fighting  among  themselves,  and 
often  feasting  on  the  dead  bodies  of  their  slain. 

One  December  day,  in  the  summer  of  1642,  there 
was  a  great  excitement  on  the  South  island,  for  the 
faint  speck  in  the  horizon,  which  the  natives  had 
been  watching  for  some  time,  grew  larger  and 
larger  until  it  assumed  the  proportions  of  a  boat 
full  of  sailors,  with  a  white  man  at  its  bow.  Be- 
fore it  reached  the  shore,  four  canoes  filled  with 
Maoris  paddled  out  to  see  it.  They  screamed  at 
the  passengers,  and  blew  on  an  instrument  like  a 
trumpet.  Then  they  went  back  to  their  huts  to 
plan  how  they  could  drive  away  these  intruders. 
The  next  day  they  surrounded  the  anchored  boat, 
and  fought  with  the  Dutchman's  crew  (Tasman, 
the  discoverer),  until  they  killed  and  wounded 
several.  While  they  were  dragging  away  the 
corpses  to  be  eaten,  the  terrified  remnant  in  the 
"  Heemskisk "  weighed  anchor  and  sailed  away 

10 


DISCOVERY  a:n^d  cant^ibalism.  11 

as  fast  as  they  could  from  this  blood}'-  Murderer's 
Bay.  The  savages  went  back  to  their  inhuman 
feast,  and  the  retreating  boat  became  once  more 
an  indistinct  dot  in  the  distant  sky. 

The  years  rolled  on,  a  century  and  a  quarter 
went  by,  and  a  new  population,  tainted  with  the 
barbarous  instinct  of  the  former,  now  inhabited 
New  Zealand.  Captain  Cook,  who  made  li\ie 
visits  to  Xew  Zealand,  was  greeted  by  the  na- 
tives with  a  threat  to  slaughter  him  if  he  landed. 
Heroic  in  nature,  he  fought,  he  lost,  he  gave 
presents  of  })igs,  potatoes  and  garden  seeds,  and 
as  the  consummation  of  his  bravery  erected  a 
flagstaff,  on  the  top  of  which  he  hoisted  the  Union 
Jack,  and  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the 
name  of  George  III.  After  this  time  white 
faces  became  a  more  frequent  sight,  but  every 
navigator  who  touched  at  the  shores  of  this  new 
country  met  with  the  same  cannibal  reception. 
Not  only  had  the  Dutch  and  English  their  horri- 
fying stories  recorded  of  "  Murderer's  Bay  "  and 
"  Poverty  Bay,"  and  of  the  savagery  and  c;in- 
nibalism  of  the  natives  of  t\ni  newly-discovered 
country,  but  the  French  and  Americans  also  li;i(l 
tlieir  sad  experiences  registered  of  "Doubtless 
liay,"  "Bay  of  Treachery"  and  "Bay  of 
Islands."  "They  treated  us,"  said  a  French  olli- 
cer  in  command  of  a  vessel  at  the  Hay  of 
Treachery,  "  with  every  show  of  friendship  U)r 


12  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

thirty-three  days,  with  the  intention  of  eating  us 
on  the  thirty-fourth." 

But  the  version  of  the  tohungas  (wise  men)  re- 
lates a  different  story  of  the  shocking  conduct  of 
the  early  discoverers  toward  the  New  Zealanders, 
in  killing  and  shooting  them  like  wild  beasts  for 
any  trifling  offense.  One  of  Captain  Cook's  offi- 
cers shot  a  man  because  he  cheated  him  out  of  a 
piece  of  calico.  A  chief  was  enticed  on  board  a 
French  vessel  and  put  in  irons  and  carried  away 
from  his  family  and  tribe.  The  poor  man  died 
of  a  broken  heart  within  a  week.  When  the  dis- 
coverer, Marion  du  Fresne,  reached  the  Bay  of 
Islands  there  sprang  up  a  strong  friendship  be- 
tween him  and  the  natives,  but  before  the  French 
departed  they  treated  the  Maoris  shamefully. 
They  violated  the  sacred  places,  cooked  food 
with  tabued  (sacred)  wood,  and  put  the  chiefs  in 
prison.  In  revenge,  the  New  Zealanders  killed 
Marion  and  sixteen  of  his  men,  and  in  the  same 
spirit  the  French  burned  villages  and  shot  hun- 
dreds of  the  defenseless  natives.  But  still  the 
boats  came,  and  among  them  a  number  of  whal- 
ing vessels,  whose  sailors  settled  on  the  island, 
married  the  Maori  women  and  introduced  a 
population  of  half-caste  children.  There  was  a 
chief  called  Te  Paki,  who  had  a  daughter  that 
married  a  sailor  named  George  Bruce.  He  set- 
tled in  the  tribe,  was  tattooed  and  became  the 


DISCOVERY   AND   CANNIBALISM.  13 

first  of  the  Pakeka  Maoris,  or  white  men  who 
lived  in  Maori  style. 

When  the  people  of  Xew  South  Wales,  in  Aus- 
tralia, discovered  that  first-class  timber  could  be 
found  in  New  Zealand  and  carried  to  India  and 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  their  cargo  boats  came, 
and  a  few  respectable  white  men  began  to  settle 
in  the  country.  This  led  several  chiefs  to  visit 
England  and  Australia  to  learn  more  about  the 
white  man  and  his  country.  Although  the  Ma- 
oris were  pleased  to  have  the  Europeans  come  to 
their  island  home,  and  exchange  their  clothes, 
seeds,  potatoes,  iron  tools,  domestic  utensils,  pigs, 
corn,  poultry,  guns  and  powder,  for  flax,  whale 
oil,  seal  skins,  kauri  gum  and  land,  they  still  cher- 
ished their  old  appetite  for  human  flesh  and 
blood. 

The  Boyd  massacre  in  1809  is  noted  in  history 
as  one  of  the  bloodiest  occurrences  of  this  revolt- 
ing practice  among  these  savage  cannibals.  A 
ship  named  "Boyd,"  with  seventy  persons  on 
board,  started  out  from  Sydney,  and  on  its  way 
to  England  stopped  at  New  Zealand  to  get  some 
kauri  spars.  There  were  five  Maoris  aboard  of 
her  working  their  passage  to  New  Zealand.  One 
of  them,  Tarra,  (or  George)  a  son  of  a  Wangaroa 
chief,  refusing  to  do  what  the  captain  ordered, 
was  whipped.  When  the  ship  anchored  olf  New 
Zealand  this  man  went  ashore  and  showed  to 


14  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

his  tribe  the  marks  on  his  back.  They  enticed 
the  captain  and  some  of  the  men  ashore,  killed 
them,  went  back  to  the  boat  and  slaughtered  all 
on  board  except  a  boy  and  a  little  girl.  An  old 
chief  captured  the  girl.  When  she  was  found  with 
him  years  afterwards  she  had  on  an  old  linen  gar- 
ment and  her  hair  was  ornamented  with  feathers. 
When  questioned  about  her  mother,  who  was 
slain  on  the  "  Boyd,"  she  would  draw  her  hand 
across  her  throat  and  say  the  Maoris  cut  her  up 
and  ate  her  like  victuals. 

After  an  interval  of  seven  years  occurred  the 
Poverty  Bay  massacre — beginning  of  peaceable 
trading  between  Europeans  and  Maoris,  a  fright- 
ful native  war  dance,  a  murder  of  eight  ship 
passengers,  a  capturing  of  the  remainder,  and 
a  horrible  cannibal  feast,  which  the  prisoners 
were  compelled  to  witness.  Eight  large,  round 
holes,  one  foot  deep,  were  dug  in  the  ground. 
Dry  wood  was  placed  in  these,  and  stones  laid 
on  top.  The  wood  was  set  on  fire  and  allowed  to 
burn  until  the  stones  became  thoroughly  heated. 
After  the  clothing  had  been  taken  from  the  dead 
bodies,  they  were  cut  up,  washed,  the  pieces  laid 
on  the  hot  stones,  and  covered  over  with  green 
leaves.  This  oven  of  human  remains  was  then 
surrounded  by  green  boughs  cut  from  the  trees 
and  dipped  in  water.  When  the  bodies  were 
roasted,  these  disgusting  cannibals  sat  round  in 


DISCOVEKY   AND   CANNIBALISM. 

groups  and  laughed  and  talked  while  the}'-  at^ 
with  potatoes  the  meat  which  was  served  in 
baskets  of  green  flax  which  the  women  had  made. 
The  bones  were  given  to  the  little  children,  who 
tore  the  flesh  from  them  like  greedy  animals. 
The  first  white  man  seen  by  the  natives  of  Wan- 
ganui  was  killed  and  roasted  as  a  new  kind  of 
animal. 

These  terrible  deeds  of  wicked  cannibalism 
awakened  a  feeling  of  revenge  and  horror  in 
the  civilized  world.  A  fleet  of  five  whaling 
ships  landed  a  troop  of  armed  men  in  the  Bay 
of  Islands  and  burned  a  town  to  the  ground  and 
killed  the  inhabitants.  In  return  whenever  a 
sailor  or  whaler  was  found  alone,  he  was  seized  by 
the  natives,  killed,  his  eyes  plucked  out  and  swal- 
lowed. This  horrible,  sickening  custom  became 
extinct  in  1840,  in  the  death  of  a  young  chief 
who  confessed  his  crime,  was  tried  in  court,  ad- 
justed himself  the  rope  on  his  neck  and  was  hung. 

There  are  still  some  old  ]\Iaoris,  who  were  once 
cannibals,  living  in  New  Zealand.  One  of  them 
told  a  friend  of  mine  in  Christ  Church,  not  long 
ago,  that  lie  had  eaten  "  long  pigs,"  alias  white 
men,  and  he  hoped  to  do  so  again. 

The  beauty  and  possibilities  of  New  Zealand 
liaving  now  V)ecome  better  known,  tlie  emigra- 
ti(m  to  it  of  other  nationalities  became  greater. 
As  the  natives  came  in  contact  more  with  tlioso 


16         THE  CONVERSION   OF  THE  MAORIS. 

new  arrivals  they  began  to  improve  in  their 
dress,  their  homes  and  their  ways  of  living. 
They  clothed  their  partially-nude  bodies  with 
flax-lined  dogskin  garments,  and  white  dress  mats 
covered  with  black  hanging  strings  and  tassels. 
They  decorated  their  heads  with  white  heron 
and  albatross  feathers,  and  each  wore  a  shark's 
tooth  tied  with  black  shoe  ribbon  around  his 
neck. 

After  the  discovery  of  green  stone,  they  made 
ornaments  of  it  which  they  wore.  They  began 
to  build  houses  of  wood,  which  they  carved  with 
hideous  figures,  stained  red,  and  inlaid  with  pearl 
shells.  The  inside  walls  were  of  yellow  reeds 
with  a  plinth  of  the  dark  stems  of  fern  tree  to 
keep  out  the  rain.  The  roofs  were  tied  with 
strong  ropes  made  from  the  stems  of  ferns.  The 
barns  were  very  much  like  the  houses ;  but  bet- 
ter built.  They  were  raised  on  poles  to  keep  the 
rats  from  getting  in  and  eating  the  potatoes  and 
grain  inside. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LEGENDS   AND   SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  word  Maori  refers  to  whatever  is  native 
or  indigenous.  When  we  speak  of  the  Maoris, 
we  mean  the  aborigines,  or  natives  of  jSTew  Zea- 
land. They  had  no  written  language.  The  near- 
est approach  to  it  was  that  of  a  knotted  cane,  a 
sort  of  a  genealogical  record  by  which  the  tohuuga 
transmitted  the  names  of  successive  chiefs.  Their 
language  was  a  pure  dialect  of  the  Polynesian, 
which  is  common  in  all  the  Eastern  Pacific  is- 
lands. The  early  missionaries  and  Maori  linguists 
did  an  invaluable  work  in  collecting  their  songs, 
legends,  proverbs,  traditions  and  mythology,  and 
in  committing  their  language  to  writing.  Their 
alphabet  was  first  coni})osed  of  fourteen  letters, 
but  subsequently  it  was  increased.  The  mission- 
aries compiled  a  dictionary  of  six  thousand  words, 
which  also  has  been  enlarged.  Their  language 
was  very  expressive  ;  it  abounded  in  poetry  and 
figures.  The  Maori  language  to-day  is  greatly 
mixed  with  English.  Nag  ])rc'fixed,  signifies  son 
and  corresponds  with  "Mac"  in  Scotch  and  "O  " 
in  Irish. 

17 


18  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

The  ]\raoris  were  born  orators.  Their  speeches 
appear  to  have  been  Avell  prepared.  Every  word, 
sentence  and  figure  was  skillfully  chosen  from 
their  copious  language  for  effect  upon  the  hear- 
ers. In  the  summer  of  1897,  I  attended  their 
land-court  meetings  at  Wanganui.  About  four 
hundred  Maoris  were  present.  They  met  in  the 
open  air,  under  a  large  tree  behind  the  court- 
house ;  and  there,  from  morning  to  evening,  for 
three  weeks,  speaker  after  speaker  rose  and  spoke 
on  the  land  question,  each  one  wielding  great  in- 
fluence with  his  speech  upon  the  assembly.  Their 
meetings  were  conducted  in  a  very  orderly  man- 
ner. There  were  about  ten  chiefs  present,  one 
of  them  presiding  at  each  meeting,  surrounded 
by  three  or  four  scribes.  The  orator  moved 
backward  and  forward  with  a  stately  and  firm 
step,  which  quickened  into  a  run  when  excited. 
The  speakers  were  mostly  old  men  and  women. 
They  manifested  a  greater  display  of  oratory  and 
gestures  than  the  younger  generation.  Among 
them  was  Major  Kemp,  a  man  of  great  repute 
among  his  race,  and  known  also  throughout  New 
Zealand  for  his  bravery  in  the  colonial  war.  He 
died  in  April,  1898,  at  Wanganui.  One  thou- 
sand Maoris  were  at  his  funeral.  A  beautiful  life 
picture  of  him  is  on  exhibition  in  the  Museum. 
Another  famous  chief,  Major  lloysala  Waharsah, 
died  in  July,  1898,  at  the  age  of  ninety.     lie  ren- 


LEGENDS    AXD    SUPERSTITIONS.  19 

tiered  gallant  services  on  behalf  of  the  Europeans 
in  the  early  days  of  the  colony.  In  return  he  had 
the  isew  Zealand  cross  conferred  upon  him,  and 
received  a  handsome  sword  from  the  queen,  a 
liberal  pension,  and  a  seat  in  the  legislative 
council. 

Their  legends  are  very  strange  and  amusing, 
especially  those  that  tell  how  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  moon,  stars  and  sun,  came  into  ex- 
istence. 

Their  tradition  of  the  burning  mountains  is  in- 
teresting. "  Sometime  after  their  ancestors  came 
from  the  North  Pacific,  a  chief  called  Ngator- 
oirauge,  wanted  to  find  out  what  the  snow  was — 
his  feet  were  benumbed ;  whereupon  his  sisters, 
Ilaungarod  and  Tanugarod,  lighted  some  brims- 
tone they  had  witli  them.  They  warmed  their 
brother's  feet,  and  wont  away  ;  but  the  brim- 
stone has  been  burning  to  this  day."  Hills  and 
mountains  in  tlie  ]\raoris'  mind  represent  their 
ancient  heroes  and  demigods. 

The  Maoris  were  musical,  and  very  fond  of 
playing  cat's  cradle,  whip))ing  tops,  fiying  kites, 
running,  leaping,  wrestling,  dancing,  swimming, 
and  paddling  in  their  canoes  on  the  Avaters  of 
these;  charming  islands.  They  liad  over  a  thou- 
sand poetical  pieces,  and  a  separate  tune  for  each 
one.  At  nigiit  they  sat  round  their  open  fires, 
and,  while  tlu;  men  gave  logciidary  rccilals  and 


20  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

sang  their  songs,  the  women  crooned  their  babies 
to  sleep  with  musical  ditties  — 

"  My  little  neck  satchel  of  sweet-scented  moss, 
My  little  neck  satchel  of  fragrant  fern, 
My  little  neck  satchel  of  odoriferous  gum, 
My  sweet-smelling  neck  locket  of  sharp-pointed  Tara  mea." 

It  was  customary  for  a  whole  family  to  join  in 
the  singing  of  that  touching  nursery  song. 

The  following  is  a  Maori  poem  written  by 
Teu  Kau,  brother  of  Te  Heuheu,  who  lost  his 
life  with  sixty  followers  by  a  landslip,  May,  1846, 
at  Te  Papa  an  old  pa  near  Takanu.  For  poetic 
diction  and  pathos,  it  has  no  equal  in  the  Maori 
language. 

"  See  o'er  the  heights  of  dark  Tauhara's  mount, 
The  infant  morning  wakes.     Perhaps  my  friend 
Returns  to  me,  clothed  in  that  lightsome  cloud  1 
Alas !     I  toil  alone  in  this  lone  world. 
Yes,  thou  art  gone  ! 

"Go  thou  mighty  !  go,  thou  dignified! 
Go,  thou  who  wert  a  spreading  tree  to  shade 
Thy  people  when  evil  hovered  round ! 
And  what  strange  God  has  caused  so  dread  a  death 
To  thee  and  thy  companions  ? 

"Sleep  on,  O  Sire,  in  that  dark  damp  abode! 
And  hold  within  thy  grasp  that  weapon  rare, 
Bequeathed  to  thee  by  thy  renowned  ancestor, 
Ngahuia,  when  he  left  the  world. 
Turn  yet  this  once  thy  bold,  athletic  frame  ! 


LEGENDS   AND   SUPERSTITIONS.  21 

And  let  me  see  thy  skin  carved  over  with  lines 
Of  blue ;  and  let  me  see  thy  face  so 
Beautifully  chisel'd  into  varied  forms ; — 
Ah  !  the  people  now  are  comfortless  and  sad ! 

"  The  stars  are  faintly  shining  in  the  heavens ! 
For  '  Atutahe  '  and  '  Rehua  Kae-Taugata  ' 
Have  disappeared,  and  that  fair  star  that  shone 
Beside  the  milky  way,  emblems  these 
Of  thee,  O  friend  beloved. 

"The  Mount  of  Tangarico  rises  lonely 
In  the  South  ;  while  the  rich  feathers  that 
Adorned  the  great  Canoe  •  Ararra,' 
Float  upon  the  wave,  and  women  from  the 
West  look  on  and  weep !     Treasures 
Why  hast  thou  left  behind  the  valued 
Of  thy  famed  ancestor  Rongomaihina, 
And  wrapped  thyself  in  right  ? 

"Cease  thy  slumbers,  O  thou  son  of  Rangi! 
Wake  up,  and  take  thy  battle-ax,  and  tell 
Thy  people  of  the  coming  signs ;  and  what 
Will  now  befall  them,  how  the  foe,  tumultuous 
As  the  waves,  will  rush  with  spear  uplifted ; 
And  how  thy  people  avenge  their  wrongs. 
Nor  shrink  at  danger.     But  let  the  warriors 
Breathe  a  while,  nor  madly  covet  death ! 

"  Lo,  thou  art  fallen,  and  the  earth  receives 
Thee  as  its  prey  !     But  thy  wondrous  fame 
Shall  soar  on  high,  resounding  o'er  the  heavens !  " 

The  Maori  proverbs  are  amusing,  for  instance : 
"  Sir,  bale  the  water  out  of  your  mouth,"  (A  re- 
buke to  a  wordy  antaf,'onist.)  "  Hero  are  the 
baskets  of  unc(joked  food,  a  man  has  hands," 


22  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MA0KI8. 

(Don't  wait  for  me  to  cook  your  food,  but  help 
yourself.)  "When  the  seine  is  worn  out  with 
age  the  new  net  encircles  the  fish,"  (When  a  man 
grows  old  his  son  takes  his  place.)  "  A  deep 
throat,  but  shallow  sinews,"  (A  word  to  a  war- 
rior— but  lazy  felloAv.) 

The  Maoris  were  famous  athletes  and  rowers. 
They  paddled  their  canoes  with  their  faces  to- 
ward the  bow.  When  they  first  sa^v  a  European 
boat  coming  to  them  they  thought  the  men  had 
eyes  behind  their  heads,  because  they  rowed  with 
their  backs  in  the  direction  of  their  course. 

The  Maoris  believed  in  the  presence  of  the  un- 
seen and  supernatural,  and  that  an  immortal 
shadow,  called  Atua  (their  native  god)  inflicted 
punishment  upon  his  victims.  If  a  young  man 
cut  his  hair,  he  would  not  eat  bread  until  night, 
for  fear  that  Atua  would  kill  him.  Atua,  in  the 
shape  of  a  lizard,  preyed  upon  a  sick  person's 
internal  organs.  Atua  tied  up  the  fishing  nets 
and  Atua  tipped  over  the  canoes.  They  believed 
that  the  spirit  left  the  body  the  third  day  after 
death,  and  stayed  round  the  corpse,  listening  to 
what  was  said  about  it.  In  heaven,  war  was  the 
chief  employment.  The  tohunga  was  a  complex 
character  of  priest,  prophet,  seer,  judge,  medical 
man,  executioner  and  adviser.  lie  told  tales  over 
and  over,  and  young  men  learned  them. 

Tapu  made  a  thing  sacred,  and  no  one  could 


LEGENDS   AKD   SUPERSTITIONS.  23 

touch  it  for  fear  of  death.  A  death  in  the  house 
made  it  sacred.  Old  people  were  often  left  out- 
side the  house  to  die  and  the  tapu  was  so  strong 
that  the  relatives  were  afraid.  This  tapu  was  a 
great  trial  to  the  missionaries.  Te  Heuheu,  the 
great  Taupo  chief  not  long  before  he  was  swal- 
lowed up  by  the  landslip,  said  to  a  missionary : 
"  Think  not  that  I  am  but  a  man — that  my  origin 
is  of  the  earth.  I  come  from  the  heavens ;  my 
ancestors  are  all  there ;  they  are  gods  and  I  shall 
return  to  them."  Kings  were  divine  during  life- 
time, gods  after  death.  Religion  taking  hold  on 
living  chiefs  and  their  tapu  (sacredness),  they 
had  the  power  to  make  everything  sacred,  which 
no  one  could  use  under  pain  of  death.  If  such 
people  were  not  killed  by  men,  they  were  by  the 
tapu.  This  power  was  invested  in  the  chiefs,  who 
could  not  be  gods,  but  live  in  the  ruins  of  chiefs' 
houses  as  spirits. 

The  priest  had  power  to  chase  away  tapu.  lie 
would  go  under  an  elaborate  ceremony  to  accom- 
plish his  object,  and,  when  he  had  put  it  away, 
he  would  say  to  the  people :  "  The  tapu  is  here ; 
the  tapu  is  removed  to  a  distant  place — that  tapu 
which  held  thee!  Take  away  the  dread,  take 
away  the  fear;  the  tajxi  is  being  borne  away, 
and  the  tai)U«il  person  is  free  !"  The  ])riost  was 
generally  the  chief.  The  Maori  believed  that 
the   Atua,  or  departed   spirit  of  a  chief,  cared 


24  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

most  for  the  living  members  of  his  own  family. 
The  families  of  the  cliiefs  were  therefore  more 
ta])ucd  than  others.  It  was  the  ta])u  that  made 
the  distinction  between  the  chiefs  and  others. 
The  chief  knew  well  the  advantage  arising  from 
tapu. 

"  Tapu,"  said  the  Eev.  Henry  Williams,  "  is  the 
secret  of  power  and  strength  of  the  despotic  rule. 
It  affects  both  great  and  small.  Here  it  is  seen 
tending  a  brood  of  chickens,  and  there  it  directs 
the  energy  of  the  kingdom.  Its  influence  is 
variously  diffused.  Coasts,  islands,  rivers  and 
seas,  animals,  fruit,  fish  and  vegetables,  houses, 
beds,  cups,  pots  and  dishes,  canoes  with  all  that 
belongs  to  them,  with  their  management,  dress 
and  ornaments  and  arms,  things  to  eat  and  things 
to  drink ;  the  members  of  the  body ;  the  man- 
ners and  customs,  language,  names,  temper  and 
even  the  gods,  all  come  under  the  influence  of 
tapu.  It  is  put  into  operation  by  religious, 
political  or  selfish  motives,  and  idleness  for 
months  lounges  beneath  its  sanction.  Many  are 
thus  forbidden  to  raise  their  hands  or  extend 
their  arms  in  any  useful  employment  for  a  long 
time."  Such  was  the  awful  power  of  superstition 
which  Christianity  had  to  displace  from  the 
mind. 

"Muru"  (robbery),  inflicted  punishments  for 
faults  or  accidents.     Those  who  performed  the 


LEGENDS   AND   SUPERSTITIONS.  25 

Muru  visited  the  afflicted  one,  ate  up  all  his 
provisions  and  took  away  all  his  movables.  The 
expedition  that  executes ,  this  work  was  called 
"taua."  If  a  man's  wife  ran  away  a  taua  of 
liis  own  friends  visited  him  as  a  mark  of  condo- 
lence, and  other  of  his  wife's  friends  visited  him 
to  punish  him  for  not  taking  better  care  of  her. 

The  offenses  for  which  people  were  plundered 
were  sometimes  of  a  nature  that  v.'ould  seem 
curious.  A  man's  child  fell  into  the  fire  and 
was  nearly  burned  to  death.  The  father  was 
immediately  plundered  to  an  extent  that  almost 
left  him  destitute,  llis  canoe  upset  and  he  and 
all  his  friends  were  nearly  drowned.  lie  was 
robbed  and  punished  with  a  club.  If  he  were 
clearing  away  fern  and  burning  it,  and  fire  got 
into  a  burial  ground,  he  was  robbed. 

Mr.  S.  Percy  Smith,  F.  R.  G.  8.,  in  the  Poly- 
nesian Journal,  Wellington,  says:  "The  super- 
natural, as  you  call  it,  satanic  influence,  saturated 
the  Maori  mythology  and  history ;  there  are 
hundreds  of  instances  of  it.  I  have  often  thought 
that  the  old  Polynesian  priests  were  possessed  of 
some  knowledge  of  powers  over  nature  whicli  wo 
have  not  got  h(A(\  of,  at  any  rate  they  had  jjower 
of  making  tlioir  licarers  believe  so.  They  are 
very  ])('rpU'xing  and  as  yet  not  understood.  We 
can  hardiv  d('S(;ribe  wiint  some  of  tlic  M.ioi'is,  to- 
hungas,  or  ))ri('sts  wore  al)l<'  to  do,  and  yet  cannot 


20  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

explain  them.  The  following  is  an  incident  told 
by  the  Maoris,  but  I  never  heard  that  Bishop 
Sehvyn  said  anything  about  it.  On  a  visit  of 
the  bishop  to  Kotorua,  he  was  very  anxious  to 
convert  an  old  tohunga,  who  held  out,  and  in- 
lluenced  others  against  Christianity.  In  the  in- 
terview the  old  man  said  to  the  bishop,  '  If  you 
can  do  what  I  can  I  will  follow  you.'  lie  then 
picked  up  a  dead  dry  brown  leaf  of  the  tiplant ; 
he  twisted  it  in  the  air,  the  same  time  repeating 
some  words  (an  incantation) ;  lo,  the  leaf  was  green 
and  alive !  This  is  the  Maori  account  of  it  by 
eyewitnesses,  who  fully  believed  what  they  saw. 
Of  course  there  may  be  natural  exj)lanation  of 
this,  but  we  do  not  know  it.  This  shows  the 
powerful  beliefs  of  the  Maoris  in  the  supernatural 
power  of  these  tohungas,  who  were  extremely 
tapu,  and  were  much  feared.  I  know  of  several 
instances  of  their  supposed  supernatural  power, 
and  I  have  found  that  all  Europeans  who  have 
had  much  to  do  with  the  race,  and  are  in  their 
confidence,  have  some  undefined  feeling  that  the 
tohungas  possessed  powers  of  which  we  know  noth- 
ing. Even  after  making  all  allowances  for  the 
ignorant  credulity  of  the  people,  there  is  still  a 
certain  residue  of  unexplained  mystery  which  we 
cannot  at  present  get  over." 

The  Maoris  were  superstitious.     If  they  once 
got  an  idea  of  dying,  they  could  not  get  it  out  of 


LEGENDS   AND   SUPERSTITIONS.  27 

their  minds.  One  day  a  Maori  went  to  a  mis- 
sionary, telling  him  that  he  was  going  to  die,  and 
asked  him  to  help  him.  He  did  so,  giving  him  a 
mustard  poultice,  and  saying, '  If  it  burns  you,  you 
will  get  well,  but  if  not,  you  will  die.'  He  got  well. 
They  imagined  the  presence  of  the  unseen,  and 
supernatural.  If  they  were  to  allow  a  fire  to  be 
lighted  under  a  shed,  where  there  were  provi- 
sions, their  god  would  kill  them.  A  band  of 
early  missionaries  who  settled  at  Bay  of  Islands, 
one  day  rowed  down  a  tapu  river  to  get  some 
food.  The  natives  seized  the  boat,  tied  up  the 
missionaries,  with  the  view  of  killing  and  eating 
them.  In  the  boat  was  some  medicine  which 
they  ate,  but  soon  they  were  so  sick,  that  they 
were  willing  to  release  the  missionaries  and  let 
them  have  their  own  way.  These  Maoris  be- 
came Christians  a  few  years  afterwards.  The 
IMarois  had  no  temple,  and  no  special  priestly 
robe.  They  a})peared  to  have  no  conception  of  a 
Supreme  Being.  The  souls  of  the  departed  were 
not  worshiped.  Sometimes  sacrifices  Avere  of- 
ered,  but  not  to  God,  only  to  pacify  death,  and 
in  honor  of  the  chief.  When  a  baby  was  eight 
days  old,  it  was  carried  to  a  stream,  and  water 
was  sprinkled  over  it  by  a  priest  with  a  branch 
of  a  tree,  and  it  was  named. 

They  had  the  consciousness  of  riglit  and  wrong, 
and  often  expressed  regret  at  wrong  acts.     They 


28  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

had  good  understanding  and  comprehension. 
They  were  ciuick  to  learn,  being  possessed  with 
strong  memory,  and  ingenious  to  follow  pattern. 
They  also  excelled  in  order  and  regularity.  They 
were  temperate  in  their  habits,  but  not  very 
cleanly.  Two  most  admirable  traits  in  the  Ma- 
oris were  a  strong  family  affection  and  a  sincere 
hospitality.  The  latter  is  a  decided  feature  in 
the  Maori  home  to-day,  not  only  among  their 
own  nation  but  to  strangers.  Their  imagination 
was  very  strong,  and  it  has  been  said  that  they 
could  weep  or  even  die,  at  will.  In  their  eyes  a 
man  was  virtuous  when  he  was  courageous  and 
could  control  his  temper.  Being  proud,  revenge- 
ful, and  full  of  physical  courage,  they  could  face 
an  enemy  and  fight  to  the  last ;  but  let  darkness 
overtake  them,  or  a  little  harmless  lizard  crawl 
out  from  a  bush  at  their  feet,  and  they  became 
trembling  cowards. 

The  Maoris'  moral  side  was  a  dark  picture. 
They  had  no  word  in  their  language  to  express 
gratitude.  Suicide  and  infanticide  were  very 
common.  They  would  kill,  roast  and  eat  little 
children  without  a  feeling  of  remorse.  Children 
were  disobedient  to  parents.  The  sick  and  dying 
were  neglected,  and  left  in  some  secluded  place 
to  die.  A  missionary  said,  "  A  full  description 
of  their  everyday  life  would  shock  the  moral 
sensibilities   of   English   readers."     The   apostle 


LEGENDS   AND   SUPERSTITIONS.  29 

Paul  in  Komans  i.  28-32  has  drawn  a  picture  of 
tlie  Maoris'  depravity  and  pollution.  They  were 
savages  of  a  most  cruel  and  ferocious  type.  Can- 
nibalism, and  feasting  on  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
slain  were  frequent.  It  is  not  known  when  the 
horrid  custom  began.  It  was  probably  a  war 
practice.  It  was  not  owing  to  their  liking  for 
human  flesh,  or  the  scarcity  of  food,  but  out  of 
revenge.  The  utmost  degradation  to  which  they 
would  reduce  their  foes  was  to  eat  them.  If  the 
enemy  was  too  strong  to  kill  him  during  lifetime 
the  Maori  could  satisfy  his  revenge  by  digging 
him  up  and  eating  him  after  his  funeral.  AVhen 
they  ate  people,  they  believed  that  the  courage 
of  their  victims  passed  into  the  victor.  To  sever 
the  jugular  vein  and  drink  the  blood  until  the 
victim  died  was  a  common  practice. 

So  they  lived  on  and  worked  on,  a  barbarous, 
superstitious,  native  race,  preparing  the  soil  in 
their  summer  and  winter,  planting,  waiting,  and 
gathering  the  harvest ;  telling  the  years  by  the 
moons,  and  the  days  and  months  by  the  rising 
and  setting  of  certain  stars,  tlie  flowering  of  cer- 
tain trees,  the  mating  of  the  birds  and  the  hum- 
ming of  insects.  They  guided  their  canoes  l)y 
the  sun,  and  by  the  ebl)ing  and  flowing  of  the 
tide;  and  wlion  the  sound  of  tlio  cuckoo  was 
licnnl  in  the;  l;in<i  tlu'V  laid  their  nets  and  Wailed 
tlu'ir  fishhooks. 


CHAPTEK  IV. 

GOVEKNMENT   AND    WAR   CUSTOMS. 

The  Maoris  constituted  three  communities, — 
nations,  tribes,  and  families,  each  independent  of 
the  other.  There  were  eighteen  nations,  and 
many  tribes  within  the  nation.  ]So  tribe  ex- 
ceeded five  thousand  persons,  and  every  tribe 
was  subject  to  its  respective  chief  and  all  the 
chiefs  yielded  to  the  rule  of  the  chief  of  their 
nation.  In  every  tribe  there  were  three  grades, 
the  chieftain,  the  commoner  and  the  slave.  The 
spiritual  and  the  temporal  authority  were  united 
in  the  eldest  son  by  inheritance.  He  was  both 
chief  and  priest.  In  lack  of  male  issue  the  chief- 
tainship passed  unto  the  eldest  daughter.  The 
chief  claimed  inspiration.  No  land  could  be 
bought  or  sold  without  the  consent  of  the  chief. 
In  this  he  had  both  civil  and  spiritual  jurisdic- 
tion. But  the  question  of  war  or  peace  was  de- 
cided by  a  council.  "  An  eye  for  an  eye,  a  tooth 
for  a  tooth,"  was  the  principle  by  which  they 
ruled  their  decision.  Tribal  rights  to  territories 
were  traced  to  "  conquest,"  transfer  and  descent. 
The  Maoris  have  been  always  devoted  to  their 

30 


GOVERNMENT   AND   WAK   CUSTOMS.  31 

ancestral  land,  and  tribal  custom.  Marriage  was 
purely  a  civil  act  among  the  Maoris.  A  slight 
squeeze  of  the  hand,  revealed  a  token  of  regard. 
Men  were  considered  to  have  divorced  their 
wives  when  they  turned  them  out  of  doors,  after 
which  it  was  lawful  for  others  to  marry  them. 
Polvgamy  was  common.  "Widows  were  not  per- 
mitted to  marry  until  their  dead  husbands'  bones 
were  taken  to  their  final  resting  place.  Women 
often  committed  suicide  on  the  death  of  their 
husbands.  Chiefs  and  free  men  were  permitted 
to  have  several  wives.  The  mother  of  the  first- 
born child  was  the  head  wife,  and  the  others 
were  little  better  than  slaves.  When  the  hus- 
band embraced  Christianity  he  put  away  all  his 
wives  except  one, — and  with  her  he  lived  happily. 
The  bodies  of  dead  chiefs  sat  in  state  for  a  year, 
before  being  removed  to  their  final  resting  phice. 
Domestic  affection  was  not  strong  either  on  the 
part  of  husband  or  wife,  or  parents  and  cliil(b-en, 
and  still  tribes  were  very  chmnisli.  A  wrong 
done  to  an  individual  was  resented,  as  tliough 
inflicted  on  the  whole  tribe.  Stealing,  |)lunder- 
ing  and  destruction  of  ]iro])erty  were  considered 
as  proper  [)unishment  for  offense. 

The  Maoris  were  not  in  their  element  except 
when  at  war  with  each  other.  The  slightest 
olTcnse  causod  war.  It  burst  out  any  moment, 
oven  among  the  ti'ibcs  that  were  at  jx-acc  with 


32  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

one  another.  The  training  of  a  3'oung  man  was 
not  complete  until  he  had  killed  his  man  in  bat- 
tle. The  young  men  before  going  to  war  had  to 
be  brought  down  to  the  brink  of  a  river,  by  a 
priest,  and  sprinkled  with  w^ater,  and  commended 
to  Tu  the  god  of  war.  Before  engaging  in  battle 
they  generally  worked  themselves  into  a  frenzy 
by  the  war  dance. 

Each  warrior  wore  a  cloth  about  his  loins,  and 
carried  a  short  spear  carved  at  the  top  to  represent 
a  grotesque  human  head,  from  the  mouth  of  which 
the  tongue  protruded  about  three  inches  in  the  form 
of  a  spear,  while  just  below  the  head  was  a  long 
tuft  of  white  dog's  hair  bound  with  flax,  stained 
a  light  red.  The  shaft  of  the  instrument  made 
of  totara  wood,  and  lightly  polished,  was  rounded 
at  the  top  part,  but  worked  out  in  an  oval  form 
with  sharp,  bevelled  edges  toward  the  bottom  end. 
Flourishing  this  weapon  in  the  wildest  manner, 
jumping  into  the  air  and  making  the  most  hide- 
ous grimaces,  thrusting  out  his  tongue,  and  turn- 
ing up  his  eyes  till  nothing  but  the  whites  were 
visible,  the  old  warrior  yelled  and  danced  about 
like  a  madman,  throwing  up  his  huata  and  catch- 
ing it  again,  sweeping  it  in  a  fearful  way,  making 
frantic  cuts  at  heads,  but  arresting  it  when  within 
an  inch  of  the  skull. 

A  war  dance  is  graphically  described  by  one 
who  had  witnessed  several  of  them,  as  follows : 


GOVEENMENT   AND    WAR   CUSTOMS.  33 

"  All  in  a  state  of  nudity,  the  face  and  body 
blackened  with  charcoal,  the  whole  army  run- 
ning some  distance,  arranged  itself  in  lines.  At 
a  given  signal,  they  suddenly  sprang  to  their 
feet,  holding  the  weapon  in  the  right  hand ;  with 
a  simultaneous  movement,  each  leg  was  alter- 
nately elevated,  and  then,  with  a  spring  they 
jumped  into  the  air,  and  made  the  ground  shake 
as  they  came  down  again.  All  the  while  they  ut- 
tered a  savage  yell,  ending  with  a  long,  deep  sigh. 
Their  mouths  gaping,  their  tongues  protruding, 
their  eyes  goggling,  and  all  the  muscles  of  their 
bodies  quivering.  They  slapped  their  naked 
thighs  with  the  palms  of  their  left  hands,  with 
a  defiant  sound.  This  would  be  repeated  again 
and  again.  Old  women  disfigured  with  red  ocher 
acted  as  Ijuglcmen  in  front  of  them,  and  all 
kept  time  with  the  chorus  of  the  war  song. 
Maddened  with  rage,  the  combatants  hui-led 
their  spears,  and  with  fierce  screams  rushed  on 
to  mortal  conflicts." 

Every  cruelty  was  inflicted  on  the  vanquislicd. 
Their  blood  was  quailed  while  warm ;  their 
heads  preserved,  their  bodies  cooked.  AVhen  the 
victorious  army  returned  Avitli  the  trophies  of 
conquest,  they  were  greeted  by  the  women  with 
hideous  noises,  grimaces,  and  contortions.  Those 
of  them  who  had  lost  husbands,  or  brotliers  or  sons, 
would  wreak  their  vengeance  on  the  wretched 


34  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

captives.  The  dance  and  the  tapu  were  re- 
newed, and  the  wailing  for  the  dead  began. 
After  food  had  been  eaten,  the  best  orator  re- 
cited the  achievements  they  had  wrought.  Such 
was  the  barbarous  condition  of  the  Maoris  before 
their  conversion  to  Christianity. 

A  Maori  Chief. 

"  Of  form,  almost  gigantic  he — 
Bull-necked,   square-jawed,   firm-lipped,   bold-eyed,  broad- 
browed. 
His  looks  proclaimed  his  character  aloud ! 
When  he  stood  forth  in  full  height  and  pride, 
In  flowing  vest  of  silky  flax,  undyed. 
But  crimson-spotted,  with  round  knots  of  wool, 
Black  points  of  cord,  alternate,  hanging  free ; 
And  o'er  it  down  to  the  brown  ankles  bare, 
A  mantle  of  white  wild-dog  fur  well  dressed. 
Its  skirt's  broad  rim  tan-hued ;  his  snowy  hair 
Crowned  with  a  jet  black  arching  crest. 
Of  hoopoe  feathers  stuck  upright. 

"Their  tips  a  crest  of  pure  white; 
And  in  his  hand,  to  order  with  or  smite. 
The  green  stone  baton  broad  of  war  or  rule, 
Grim  mouth,  and  oval  as  a  cactus  leaf, 
Did  not  each  glance  and  gesture  stamp  him  then, 
Self-heralded,  a  god-made  King  of  men  ?  " 

— Donnett. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE   APOSTLE   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

When  Saul  of  Tarsus  on  his  way  to  Damascus, 
was  found  by  our  Lord,  and  converted  and  pre- 
pared for  his  life-work  in  the  school  of  Christ, 
he  became  the  twelfth  apostle;  so  before  me, 
has  stood  for  months  one  chosen  and  trained  to 
be  the  thirteenth  apostle,  "  The  Apostle  of  the 
Maoris." 

Samuel  INfarsden  was  a  plain  unassuming  man, 
— he  made  no  claim  to  scholarship,  brilliancy, 
wealth  or  high  rank  ;  but  a  sanctified  ambition 
moved  him  throughout.  His  life  is  a  powerful 
inspiration.  "Who  should  wonder  at  this,  since 
he  was  complotoly  under  our  Lord's  command  ? 
Not  only  a  loyal  soldier  of  the  J>ritish  crown, 
but  a  good  soldier  of  the  Messiah's  crown,  more- 
over, a  u.seful  vessel,  clean,  and  emptied  of  self 
and  filled  with  the  Spirit ;  therefore,  his  evangel- 
ization of  Australasia  was  more  than  imagination 
could  anticipate.  He  was  truly  the  peer  of  his  gen- 
eration. At  the  Antii)odos,  he  stood  (irmly  for 
forty-four  years,  a  burning  and  shining  light. 
He  was  born  on  July  t^l,  1T»11,  :it  Ilorsfoith, 
Kn'dand.     Wiif-n   a  l;i(l,  he  ;ittrn<lc<l   Wu^   Mdh- 


30  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

odist  church  Avith  his  Christian  parents,  and  was 
taught  in  the  viUago  school  of  his  native  town 
and  the  grammar  school  at  Hull.  His  desires  to 
become  a  preacher  and  his  gifts  for  the  office 
were  recognized  by  the  Elland  Society,  under 
whose  auspices  he  was  admitted  into  St.  John's 
College,  Cambridge,  to  study  for  the  ministry. 
Before  he  graduated,  he  received  an  appointment 
from  the  government  as  second  chaplain  for  the 
colony  of  ISTew  South  Wales.  After  his  ordina- 
tion and  marriage,  he  and  his  pious  wife  sailed 
on  September  30,  1793,  in  a  convict  transport  for 
Sydney,  and  landed  there  on  March  10,  1794. 

On  his  voyage  he  encountered  much  hardship^ 
being  surrounded  by  a  godless  company,  consist- 
ing of  thieves,  adulterers,  and  blasphemers.  lie 
Avrote  in  his  diary,  "  May  God  keep  me  from  evil 
that  I  may  not  be  tainted  by  the  evil  practices  of 
those  among  whom  I  live."  Having  read  the 
life  of  David  Brainerd,  his  soul  was  fired  with 
missionary  zeal.  He  prayed  that  God  might 
make  him  a  blessing  to  the  penal  settlement  and 
to  the  islands  of  the  sea.  Arriving  at  Sydney  he 
promptly  began  work.  Upon  reaching  the  col- 
ony, the  senior  chaplain  gave  up  his  work  and  re- 
turned to  England.  This  increased  Marsden's  re- 
sponsibility, being  the  only  clergyman  in  New 
South  "Wales.  He  held  the  office  of  a  magistrate 
which  brought  him  often  into  opposition  with  un- 


THE  APOSTLE   OF  THE   MAORIS.  37 

scrupulous  men,  from  whom  he  sulfered  persecu- 
tion. Added  to  his  official  hardens  were  severe  af- 
flictions. His  hoy,  two  jaivs  old,  accidentally  fell 
from  the  arms  of  his  mother  while  driving  over 
a  rough  road  and  was  killed.  Subsequently,  he 
iind  his  wife  left  another  child  in  care  of  their  do- 
mestic, through  whose  carelessness  he  was  scaldeil 
to  death.  These  severe  trials,  he  calmly  and 
patiently  bore  as  coming  from  a  loving  heavenly 
Father.  The  London  Missionary  Society  added 
to  his  work  by  appointing  him  their  colonial 
agent  for  Polynesia.  This  led  him  to  estab- 
lish a  mission  at  Tahiti.  The  summer  of  1805, 
he  and  Te  Paki,  the  first  Maori  cliief  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, met  face  to  face.  The  chief's  fame 
had  already  traveled  from  the  Bay  of  Ishiuds  to 
Australia.  "Whalers  spoke  of  his  excellent  quali- 
ties. When  in  Sydney,  Governor  King  enter- 
tained him,  and  gave  him  presents,  and  finally 
sent  him  home  in  his  majesty's  colonial  vessel,  as 
a  mark  of  his  esteem. 

Impressed  by  his  interviews  with  Te  Paki,  A[r. 
Marsden  went  to  England,  in  1807,  to  ])lead  the 
cause  of  the  Maoris  before  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  ;  as  a  result,  the  Maori  Mission  was  organ- 
ize<l.  Before  this  h«;  lal)orod  assiduously  for  four- 
teen years  in  New  South  Wales,  and  as  a  con.se- 
cjuence  he  accjuirod  a  general  reputation  for  his 
wisdom  ;infl   (idclitv  in  the  cause  he  iiad  so  ear- 


38  THE   CONVERSION   OF   TJIE   MAORIS. 

nestlj  embraced.  Zeal  for  New  Zealand  led  him 
to  test  civilization,  previous  to  Christianization, 
only  to  find  as  other  missionaries  since  his  day, 
that  conversion  to  God  precedes  every  social 
effort,  both  for  savage  and  heathen  alike. 

Successful  in  his  enterprise,  he  returned  to 
Sydney,  in  1809,  accompanied  only  by  two  Chris- 
tian mechanics, — Messrs.  Hall  and  King,  a  car- 
penter and  a  shoemaker,  although  he  had  made 
an  urgent  appeal  to  his  countrymen  for  volun- 
teers to  carry  out  his  project.  In  the  forecastle 
of  the  ship  in  which  he  was  returning,  Mr. 
Marsden  noticed  a  man,  whose  brown  skin  and 
forlorn  condition  awakened  his  desire  to  help 
him.  Sick  and  weak,  and,  racked  with  a  violent 
cough,  the  poor  man,  wrapped  in  a  ragged  old 
coat,  seemed  to  have  but  a  few  days  to  live.  He 
proved  to  be  young  Ruatara,  a  relative  of  Te  Phai 
and  nephew  of  the  famous  Hongi,  himself  a  chief 
— the  very  man  who  was  to  share  with  our 
apostle  in  planting  Christianity  in  New  Zealand. 
He  was  returning  after  a  five  years'  cruise  at  sea, 
having  been  wickedly  treated  by  whalers  and 
shipmasters,  who  detained  him  on  board  the  ship 
"  Ann  "  in  which  Rev.  Mr.  Marsden  and  his  party 
were  taking  their  passage.  Recovering  from  his 
sickness,  he  stayed  in  Mr.  Marsden's  home,  in 
Sydney,  for  six  months,  acquiring  a  knowledge  of 
agriculture,  and  was  sent  back  to  New  Zealand, 


THE   APOSTLE   OF   THE  MAORIS.  39 

as  a  forerunner  of  the  missionaries.  There  he 
related  what  he  had  seen  and  heard.  But  the 
wheat  seed,  which  was  given  to  the  chiefs,  and 
sown  by  Ruatara,  and  converted  into  bread,  and 
eaten  throughout  Kew  Zealand  before  the  chap- 
lain put  his  foot  on  the  soil,  was  a  mighty  factor 
in  preparing  the  savage  mind  to  listen  to  the 
words  of  life  from  the  lips  of  our  apostle. 

A  few  months  before  the  return  of  Iluatara  to 
his  native  land,  news  had  reached  Sydney  of 
the  destruction  of  the  ship  "  Boyd,"  and  all  pas- 
sengers except  two.  Feeling  was  high  against 
the  Maori  cannibals.  It  was  unsafe  for  a  New 
Zealander  to  walk  the  streets  of  Sydney. 

The  mission  had  to  be  suspended  for  live  years. 
In  1813  it  came  ;igain  to  the  front.  A  missionary 
meeting  was  held ;  resolutions  were  jiresented 
and  accepted  ;  the  ship  "  Active "  was  bought 
as  a  piornMT  missionary  sliip ;  and  ^Mossrs.  Hall 
and  Kendall  were  sent  to  New  Zealand  to  lind 
out  the  lay  of  the  land  and  t<»  bring  Ruatarannd 
some  friendly  chiefs  back  with  tlicm,  so  that  the 
cha[)lain  might  obtain  an  inlliience  over  the 
ferocious  natives  and  avail  himself  of  their  good 
ofliccs  when  ln'  arrived  in  their  country. 

They  returned  in  ,\ugust  and  reporte<l  favor- 
ably. Kuatara,  Ilongi  and  Komkoro,  and  other 
cliiefs,  were  intro(biced  to  the  governor.  A  va- 
cation of  four  months  was  granted    to  tlicchai)- 


40  TJIE   CONVEUSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

lain.  On  November  19,  1814,  he  sailed  in  the 
"  Active  "  with  his  party,  including  Maori  chiefs 
and  convicts.  AVhen  they  landed,  they  found 
that  the  tribes  of  Wangaroa  and  the  Bay  of 
Islands  were  at  war  with  each  other. 

He  took  immediate  steps  to  make  peace  be- 
tween the  rival  chiefs.  A  meeting  of  the  war- 
riors was  called,  and  before  it  Avas  over  the  rival 
foes   were  reconciled,   and  peace   was   secured. 

After  the  meeting,  as  the  evening  advanced, 
the  people  began  to  retire  to  rest  in  different 
groups. 

We  give  here  Mr.  Marsden's  own  description 
of  the  scene : 

"About  eleven  o'clock,  Mr.  Nicholas  and  I 
wrapped  ourselves  in  our  great  coats,  and  prepared 
for  rest.  George  directed  me  to  lie  by  his  side. 
His  wife  and  child  lay  on  the  right  hand,  and 
Mr.  Nicholas  close  by.  The  night  was  clear,  the 
stars  shone  bright,  and  the  sea  in  front  was 
smooth.  Around  us  were  innumerable  spears 
stuck  upright  in  the  ground,  and  groups  of  na- 
tives lying  in  all  directions,  like  a  flock  of  sheep 
upon  the  grass,  as  there  were  neither  tents  nor 
huts  to  cover  them.  I  viewed  our  present  posi- 
tion with  sensations  and  feelings  I  cannot  ex- 
press, surrounded  by  cannibals  who  had  massa- 
cred and  devoured  our  countrymen.  I  wondered 
much  at  the  mysteries  of  Providence,  and  how 


THE   APOSTLE   OF   THE   MAORIS.  41 

these  things  could  be.  Kever  did  I  behold  the 
blessed  advantage  of  civilization  in  a  more  grate- 
ftd  light  than  now.  I  did  not  sleep  much  during 
the  night.  My  mind  was  too  seriously  occupied 
by  the  present  scene  and  the  new  and  strange 
ideas  it  naturally  excited.  About  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  I  rose  and  walked  about  the 
camp,  surveying  the  different  natives.  AVhen  the 
morning  light  returned,  we  beheld  men,  women, 
and  children  asleep  in  all  directions,  like  the 
beasts  of  the  field." 

Early  on  Thursday,  December  22,  the  "  Active  " 
entered  the  Bay  of  Islands.  Her  motley  crew  of 
savages,  convicts,  Christian  teachers,  enterprising 
mechanics  with  their  wives  and  children,  in  all 
thirty-three  persons,  besides  a  horse,  sheep,  cat- 
tle, goats,  pigs  and  other  live  stock  were  all 
safely  landed  at  their  destination.  The  firing 
of  a  gun  as  a  token  of  respect  to  Ruatara 
awoke  the  inhal)itants  of  the  town,  and  hastened 
some  two  hun(h'ed  warriors  to  the  beach,  Mr. 
Marsden,  escorted  by  Ruatara  and  the  other 
cliiefs,  met  them,  and  for  his  sake  whoso  fame 
had  })reccded  him  they  were  all  kindly  received. 
The  natives  were  greatly  amazed  at  the  horse 
and  cows,  and  particularly  u|K)n  seeing  one  <»f 
the  missionaries  riding  the  horse,  which  they 
called  a  big  dog. 

A  rec('i)tion  was  given  to   Mr.  Mai-sdcn  in  the 


42  THE   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

nature  of  a  war  dance  and  sham  figbt,  which,  in- 
deed, was  far  more  repulsive  to  the  Europeans 
than  attractive.  The  contest  was  between  Iluatara 
on  one  side,  with  two  hundred  warriors,  and 
Korokoro,  with  as  many,  on  the  other  side.  It 
was  a  most  hideous  performance. 

After  this  strange  welcome  was  over,  Mr. 
Marsden  gathered  them  round  him  and  talked  to 
them  about  the  object  of  the  missionary  colony 
and  the  necessity  of  having  land  upon  whicli  to 
erect  a  mission  house.  They  all  concurred  in 
whatsoever  he  suggested  or  asked.  Kangiho  was 
pointed  out  as  a  suitable  place  for  the  mission  sta- 
tion. Two  hundred  acres  were  bought  for  twelve 
axes.  Two  parchment  deeds  had  been  previously 
drawn  up  in  proper  form  on  behalf  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  which  only  required  to  be 
signed  by  the  owners  of  the  soil.  The  ingenious 
mind  of  Hongi  furnished  a  contrivance  of  at- 
testation, lie  drew  u])on  the  deeds  a  complete 
representation  of  the  tattooing  of  the  countenance 
of  Kuna,  to  which  the  latter  set  his  mark.  It 
served  as  the  ratifying  symbol  of  the  agreement. 
Mr.  Kendall  and  Mr.  Nicholas  signed  on  the  part 
of  the  settlers,  and  a  native  drew  the  moko  on  one 
of  his  cheeks  as  corresponding  testimony  for  the 
mark  of  the  New  Zealanders.  The  ground  then 
was  declared  tapu  (sacred)  to  all  but  the  mission 
colonv,  and  henceforth  the  natives  were  not  al- 


THE   APOSTLE   OF  THE  MAOKIS.  43 

lowed  to  enter  it  witliout  the  consent  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. 

Saturday  was  a  busy  day  with  Euatara  pre- 
paring a  place  for  public  worship.  Half  an  acre 
was  fenced  in,  a  pulpit  was  made  out  of  an  old 
canoe,  and  seats  were  put  round  it  for  the  white 
people,  and  mats  thrown  on  the  ground  for  the 
natives.  On  a  high  hill  near  this  novel  meet- 
ing house  was  a  flagstaff,  from  the  top  of  which 
the  English  flag  fluttered,  bearing  the  emblems 
of  the  cross  and  dove,  and  the  words,  "Good 
Tidings."  Let  Mr.  Marsden  himself  tell  how  he 
preached  his  first  sermon  in  New  Zealand. 

"  On  Sunday  morning,  when  I  was  on  deck,  I 
saw  the  English  flag  flying,  which  was  a  pleasing 
sight  in  New  Zealand.  I  considered  it  as  the 
signal  and  dawn  of  civilization,  liberty  and  re- 
ligion in  that  dark  and  benighted  land.  1  never 
viewed  the  lii-itish  colors  with  more  gratiflcation, 
and  flattered  myself  they  would  never  be  i-e- 
moved  till  the  natives  of  that  island  enjoyed  all 
the  liappiness  of  British  subjects.  Ai)out  ten 
o'clock  I  prepared  to  go  ashore  to  i)ublisli  for  the 
first  time  the  glad  tidings  of  the  gospel.  I  was 
under  no  aj)])rehension  for  the  safety  of  the  ship 
and,  therefore,  ordered  all  aboard  to  go  ashore  to 
attend  divine  service,  except  the  master  and  oiio 
man.  AVhen  we  landed  we  found  K<»rokoi'o, 
Kuatara  and  Hongi,  dressed  in  reginu-ntals  wliich 


4A  THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MA0KI3. 

Governor  Macquire  iuul  y-iven  them,  with  their 
men  drawn  up  ready  to  be  marched  into  the  in- 
ch)sure  to  attend  divine  service.  They  had  their 
swords  by  their  sides  and  switches  in  their  hands. 
We  entered  the  inclosure  and  were  placed  on  the 
seats  on  each  side  of  the  pulpit.  Korokoro 
marched  his  men  and  placed  them  on  my  right 
hand  in  the  rear  of  the  Europeans ;  and  Ivuatara 
placed  his  men  on  the  left.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  town,  with  the  women  and  children  and  a 
number  of  other  chiefs,  formed  a  circle  round  the 
whole.  A  very  solemn  silence  prevailed.  The 
sight  was  truly  impressive.  I  rose  and  began 
the  service  with  singing  the  Old  Hundredth 
psalm,  and  my  very  soul  melted  within  me  when 
I  viewed  my  congregation,  and  considered  the 
state  they  were  in. 

"  After  reading  the  service,  during  which  the 
natives  stood  up  and  sat  down  at  the  signal  given 
by  Korokoro's  switch,  which  was  regulated  by 
the  movements  of  the  Europeans,  it  being  Christ- 
mas, I  preached  from  the  second  chapter  of  St. 
Luke's  Gospel,  and  tenth  verse :  '  Behold,  I  bring 
3H)u  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,'  etc.  The  natives 
told  Ruatara  that  they  could  not  understand 
what  I  meant.  He  replied  that  they  were  not  to 
mind  that  now,  for  they  would  understand  by 
and  by,  and  that  he  would  explain  my  meaning  so 
far  as  he  could.     Wlien  I  had  finished  preaching, 


THE   APOSTLE   OF  THE   MAORIS.  45 

he  informed  tlieiii  what  I  had  been  talking  about, 
liuatara  was  very  much  pleased  that  he  had  been 
able  to  make  all  the  necessary  preparations  for 
divine  worship  in  so  short  a  time,  and  we  felt 
much  obliged  to  him  for  his  attention." 

The  purpose  of  the  mission  had  now  been  pre- 
sented, the  gospel  preached,  land  had  been 
bought,  houses  had  been  built  and  missionaries 
settled,  and  friendly  alliance  had  been  made  with 
hostile  tribes.  The  apostle  must  return  to 
Sydney.  A  large  number  of  peoi)le  assembled  to 
bid  him  farewell.  Chiefs  pledged  themselves  to 
stand  by  the  missionaries.  On  February  22,  the 
"  Active  "  sailed  on  lier  return  journey.  Several 
young  chiefs  accompanied  Mr.  Marsden.  On  his 
arrival  at  Sydney  he  built  a  seminary  for  the 
]\la(>ris  at  Tarramatta,  where  sometimes  as  many 
as  thirty  of  them  received  instruction.  Ihit  after 
a  few  years'  experience  the  climate  j)roved  to  be 
uncongenial  to  the  New  Zeahmders,  and  the 
school  had  to  be  given  uj). 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  IVfarsden  at 
Sydney  from  the  Bay  of  Islands,  he  reporleil  to 
the  governor  of  New  South  "Wales  that  he  had 
estaljlished  a  most  ])romising  Christian  mission  in 
New  Zealand,  under  the  aus|)ices  of  the  Church 
of  England  Missionary  Society  ;  "  tlio  set  time 
to  favor  Zion  had  come,  yea,  the  set  time."  lie 
could   trace   the   leading  of   Providence  in  every 


46  THE   CONVKRSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

stop  taken  durin^^  that  })eriod  to  carry  out  his 
design.  The  answer  to  his  prayer,  the  kindness 
of  tlie  savages,  their  pledge  to  support  the  mis- 
sionaries and  defend  them  from  other  hostile 
tribes,  made  it  clear  to  him  that  God  was  in  the 
planting  of  this  vine.  He  gave  thanks  and  took 
courage. 

The  opposing  forces  against  the  mission  were 
gigantic.  Superstition,  tapu  and  utu,  savage  dis- 
position, tribal  wars,  Maori  wars,  fickleness  of 
character,  sensual  feasting,  domestic  habits,  po- 
lygamy and  ignorance,  and  a  host  of  other  vices 
had  to  be  faced  and  overcome  before  the  soil  was 
prepared  for  the  truth. 

The  mission  seemed  to  assure  success  at  the  be- 
ginning. The  news  of  the  work  done  by  the 
missionaries  in  teaching  the  natives  how  to  culti- 
vate the  soil,  sow  and  plant,  and  to  speak  Eng- 
lish, went  like  lightning  throughout  the  land. 
Many  chiefs  visited  the  mission  station,  and  in- 
vited the  missionaries  to  come  and  do  similar 
work  among  their  tribes.  The  mission  was  sup- 
plemented with  more  laborers  from  time  to  time, 
and  new  enterprises  were  started.  The  home 
Church  was  much  interested  in  the  work,  and 
supported  it  liberally.  The  "  Active  "  was  now 
continuously  engaged  as  a  missionary  vessel  be- 
tween Sydney  and  New  Zealand.  Mr,  Marsden 
was  kept  well  informed  of  the  progress  of  the 


THE   APOSTLE   OF   THE   MAORIS.  47 

work.  The  growth  of  civilization  Avas,  indeed, 
most  cheering.  Better  houses  had  been  built. 
The  land  Avas  producing  rich  harvests  in  wheat. 
Mr.  Kendall  had  as  many  as  seventy-five  scholars 
in  his  school,  but  there  was  no  conversion  to 
Christianity. 

Kuatara  died  and  his  wife  committed  suicide 
through  grief.  Chiefs  had  quarrels  with  each 
other.  There  was  a  general  uprising  in  the  dis- 
trict. Ex-convicts,  who  had  formed  the  bulk  of 
the  crews  of  vessels,  and  had  settled  at  the  Bay 
of  Islands,  caused  endless  trouble  to  the  ]\[aoris. 
They  were  bad  characters.  The  Maoris  showed 
revenge  by  killing  and  stealing.  Discontentment 
prevailed.  The  missionaries  felt  unsafe  to  con- 
tinue the  work.  But  visits  from  Mr.  Marsden 
from  time  to  time  cheered  and  encouraged  them 
to  abide  in  the  field.  His  influence  over  the  fe- 
rocious savages  was  plionomonal.  He  would 
walk  alone  unarmed  into  tlie  midst  of  these  un- 
civilized people,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  them. 
Ho  made  many  long  journeys  by  land  on  foot 
among  some  of  the  wildest  triljes.  On  on<'  oc- 
ca.sion,  after  walking  for  several  days  in  the  ImisIi, 
ho  said:  ''When  I  lay  down  u])on  the  ground 
after  a  weary  day's  journey,  wnipped  up  in  my 
groat  coat,  surrounded  by  e;innil);ils,  1  often 
thouglit  how  many  thousands  tlioro  are  in  civil 
life  languishing  uj)on   l)eds  of  df)wn,  and  saying, 


48  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

*  Would  God  it  were  morning,'  while  I  could 
sleep  free  from  fear  or  pain,  under  the  guardian 
care  of  Him  who  keei)eth  Israel."  The  INlaoris 
almost  worshiped  him.  Wherever  he  went  ho 
was  cordially  received.  When  he  would  sit  in 
the  open  air  and  rest  after  a  hard  day's  work, 
it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see  lumdreds 
of  Maoris  clustering  round  him.  Some  of  them 
would  look  for  hours  into  his  face. 

"  My  father,"  wrote  his  daughter,  "  had  some- 
times as  many  as  thirty  Maoris  staying  at  the 
parsonage.  He  possessed  extraordinary  influence 
over  them."  On  one  occasion,  a  young  lad,  the 
nephew  of  a  chief,  died,  and  his  uncle  immedi- 
ately made  preparation  to  sacrifice  a  slave  to  at- 
tend his  spirit  into  the  other  world.  Mr.  Mars- 
den  was  from  home,  and  his  family  were  only 
able  to  preserve  the  life  of  the  young  New  Zea- 
lander  by  hiding  him  in  one  of  the  rooms.  Mars- 
den  on  his  return,  spoke  to  the  chief,  and  rea- 
soned with  him,  which  resulted  in  sparing  the  life 
of  the  slave.  No  further  attempt  was  made  upon 
the  slave,  though  the  uncle  frequently  deplored 
that  his  nephew  had  no  attendant  to  the  next 
world ;  and  he  seemed  to  be  afraid  to  return  to 
New  Zealand,  lest  the  father  of  the  young  man 
would  reproach  him  for  having  given  up  the  im- 
portant custom.  Concerning  a  visit  with  her 
father    to   New   Zealand,   ]\Ii3S   Marsden   saj's : 


THE   APOSTLE   OF   THE   XAOKIS.  49 

"  We  anchored  at  the  AVesleyaii  Mission  at 
Ilokiangu,  where  we  were  kindly  received  by  the 
missionaries,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Turner.  The  natives 
were  coming  to  attend  service.  Mr.  Turner 
preached,  and  afterwards  my  father  addressed 
them.  They  listened  with  earnest  attention,  and 
were  much  pleased.  Many  of  the  old  chiefs  were 
delighted  to  see  my  father,  and  offered  to  build 
him  a  house  if  he  would  remain.  One  said, 
'  Stay  with  us  and  learn  our  language,  and  then 
you  will  become  our  father  and  our  friend,  and 
we  will  build  you  a  house.'  '  No,'  replied  an- 
other, '  we  canntjt  build  a  house  good  enough,  but 
we  will  hire  Europeans  to  do  it  for  us.' 

"The  whole  congregation  joined  in  the  re- 
sponses and  singing,  and  though  they  have  not 
the  most  i)leasing  voices,  yet  it  was  delightful  to 
hear  tliem  sing  one  of  the  hymns,  commencing, 
*  From  Egypt  lately  come.'  I  took  leave  of  Mrs. 
Turner,  and  mounted  in  a  chair  on  the  shoulders 
of  two  Xew  Zealandcrs,  headed  the  procession. 
My  father,  Mr.  Wilkinson,  and  the  two  children 
were  carried  in  '  kaw-sliorrs '  or  native  biers,  on 
which  they  carried  their  sick.  AVe  entered  a 
forest  of  five  miles,  then  stopj»e(l  to  dine.  The 
natives  so<m  cooked  the  potatoes,  corn,  etc.,  in  an 
oven  which  they  scooped  in  the  sand.  After 
heating  a  number  of  stones,  the  potatoes  were  put 
in,  covered  with  grass  and  leaves,  and  a  (juantity 


50  THE   COXVEKSIOX   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

of  water  pourcHl  upon  them ;  they  were  ex- 
quisitely steamed.  As  I  approached  one  of  the 
groups  sitting  at  dinner,  I  was  much  affected  by 
seeing  one  of  them  get  up  and  ask  a  blessing 
over  the  basket  of  potatoes. 

"  Five  miles  from  Auckland  I  left  my  chair, 
mounted  on  horseback  and  reached  the  town 
for  breakfast.  Old  Nini  accompanied  us  the 
whole  way,  and  told  my  father  if  he  attempted 
to  ride  he  would  leave  him.  The  natives  car- 
ried him  all  the  way  with  the  greatest  cheerful- 
ness, and  brought  him  through  the  most  difficult 
places  with  the  greatest  ease.  The  distance  they 
carried  him  was  about  twenty  miles."  When- 
ever Mr.  Marsden  entered  a  village  the  natives 
would  come  forth  to  meet  him  with  firing  of 
muskets  and  dances  of  exultation. 

^[r.  Marsden's  mission  in  Kew  Zealand 
abounded  in  reconciliations  between  hostile  tribes. 
At  one  time  Ilongi  had  as  many  as  a  thou- 
sand warriors  marshaled  on  a  war  expedition. 
The  veteran  missionary,  unarmed,  met  him,  and 
through  his  magnetic  power  prevailed  upon  the 
chief  to  give  up  his  hostility.  He  afterwards 
bought  from  him  a  large  lot  of  land,  consisting 
of  thirteen  thousand  acres,  for  forty-eiglit  axes, 
for  a  mission  station  at  a  place  called  Kerikeri. 

The  missionaries  encountered  great  danger  and 
privation  from  the  haughty  and  savage  natives 


THE   APOSTLE   OF   THE   MAOEIS.  51 

during  the  horrors  of  their  tribal  wars.  On  one 
occasion  a  chief  of  the  AVahoroa  tribe  refused  to 
pay  any  attention  to  them.  lie  told  them  that, 
on  his  return  from  war  with  Ratorua,  they  would 
see  his  garden  palings  adorned  with  a  row  of 
human  heads.  "  The  kumara  and  the  flesh,"  he 
muttered ;  "  how  sweetly  they  will  go  down  to- 
gether ! "  On  his  return,  the  posts  of  his  fence 
were  garnished  with  the  heads  of  his  enemies. 

Hostility,  pillage  and  cannibal  feasts  made  the 
country  wretched.  Work  was  suspended,  life 
was  at  a  great  discount,  the  outlook  was  dark. 
The  missionaries,  though  alive  to  the  peril  of 
their  situation,  would  neither  leave  nor  give  up 
their  Avork.  They  stood  firm  for  God  and  hu- 
manity as  living  witnesses  against  paganism  and 
bloodshed,  though  at  the  same  time  they  reported 
that  it  was  unl)earaljle  to  continue  any  longer 
the  mission,  as  the  natives  were  as  insensible  to 
the  need  of  redemption  as  brutes,  and  that  they 
were  only  casting  the  seed  on  a  rock.  The  Wes- 
leyans,  also  thought  of  giving  up  and  leaving  for 
the  want  of  success.  But  not  long  after  there  was 
a  great  change  for  the  better — a  great  ingathering 
of  souls.  When  Christianity  took  root  it  grew 
quickly.  In  1830  the  scattered  seed  began  to 
sprout.  Churches  were  filled  with  attentive 
listeners.  The  Sabbath  was  observed  as  a  day 
of  rest.     i^Iany  were  baptized.     Some  sat  at  the 


52  THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MAORIS. 

Lord's  Supper.  The  Bible  was  revered,  taught 
and  read.  And  still  up  to  1838  two-thirds  of  the 
^[aoris  had  not  seen  a  missionar}^,  although  they 
had  heard  about  them.  The  early  converts  man- 
ifested great  zeal  in  going  everywhere  with  the 
news  and  preaching  the  gospel,  though  too  often 
at  the  sacrifice  of  their  life  by  hostile  tribes. 

Mr.  Marsden  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  the  ef- 
fective power  of  the  mission.  After  visiting  a 
battle  ground  to  arbitrate  between  two  hostile 
chiefs,  he  said  :  "  The  contrast  between  the  state 
of  the  east  and  west  sides  of  the  bay  was  very 
striking.  Though  only  two  miles  distant,  the 
east  shore  was  crowded  with  different  tribes  of 
fighting  men  in  a  wild,  savage  state,  many  of 
them  nearly  naked,  and,  when  exercising,  entirely 
naked.  Nothing  was  to  be  heard  but  the  firing  of 
muskets,  the  noise,  din  and  commotion  of  a  sav- 
age military  camp  ;  some  mourning  the  death  of 
their  friends,  others  suffering  from  their  wounds, 
and  not  one  but  whose  mind  was  involved  in 
heathen  darkness,  without  one  ray  of  divine 
knowledge.  On  the  other  side  was  the  pleasant 
sound  of  the  church  bell ;  the  natives  assembling 
together  for  divine  w^orship,  clean,  orderly,  and 
decently  dressed,  most  of  them  in  European 
clothing ;  they  were  carrying  the  litany  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  church  service,  written  in 
their  own  language,  in  their  hands  with  their 


THE  APOSTLE   OF   THE   MAOEIS.  53 

hymns.  The  church  service,  as  far  as  it  has  been 
translated,  they  could  read  and  write." 

Rangi,  a  chief  of  some  weight  in  his  tribe,  was 
the  first  Maori  who  confessed  Christianity.  lie 
was  baptized  on  September  14,  1825,  just  ten 
years  after  the  mission  had  been  founded.  Some 
months  before  his  conversion,  he  was  found  regu- 
larly at  the  meeting  house,  and  was  observed  to 
be  very  careful  on  the  Sabbath.  "  My  thoughts," 
he  said,  "  are  continually  in  heaven,  in  the  morn- 
ing, at  midday  and  at  night.  My  belief  is  in  the 
great  God  and  in  Jesus  Christ.  I  have  prayed 
to  God  and  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  my  heart  feels 
full  of  light."  He  died  in  the  faith— the  first- 
fruits  of  a  great  harvest. 

Already  the  gospel  was  manifesting  its  effective 
power.  The  seed  of  the  Kingdom  was  springing 
up  in  hearts.  Many  of  the  natives  had  improved 
in  their  way  of  living.  A  chief  came  from  Cook 
Strait  to  ask  Mr.  Marsden  if  he  would  send  a 
missionary  to  his  tribe.  The  wliole  of  the  North 
ishind  appeared  to  be  ready  for  the  gospel.  The 
thought,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  was 
secretly  agitating  the  minds  of  many.  A  young 
chief  named  Wariki  wrote  to  a  missionary  his 
religious  thoughts,  Avhich  sound  like  the  confes- 
sion of  St.  Augustine.  He  said:  "How  is  it 
that  I  am  so  deaf  to  what  you  say?  HI  had 
listened  to  vour  various  callings,  I  should  have 


54  THE    CONVEKSIOX    OK    TllE    MAOKIS. 

done  many  things  wliicli  CJod  bids  us  do,  and 
should  not  luive  obeyed  my  lieart,  which  is  a 
deal'  and  a  lying  heart,  and  \'ery  joking;  and  my 
lieart  sometimes  ridicules  me  for  saying  1  wish 
to  believe  right  and  to  do  right.  How  is  it? 
Sometimes  I  say  aye,  and  sometimes  the  thoughts 
within  me  cause  me  to  say  no  to  the  things  of 
God  ;  and  then  there  is  a  grumbling  and  a  con- 
tention within  whether  aye  or  no  is  to  be  the 
greatest,  or  which  is  to  be  overturned.  The 
more  I  turn  my  eyes  within  and  continue  look- 
ing, the  more  I  wonder,  and  I  think  perhaps  I 
have  never  prayed,  perhaps  I  have.  I  have,  this 
day  and  many  days;  and  my  mouth  has  whis- 
pered and  said  loud  prayers;  but  I  wish  to  know, 
and  I  am  saying  within  me  if  I  have  prayed  with 
my  heart.  Say  you,  if  I  have  prayed  to  (Jod 
with  my  heart,  should  I  say  no  and  not  do  his 
bidding,  as  the  P>i])le  says  Ave  must  and  tells  us 
how?  And  should  I  flutter  about  like  a  bird 
without  wings,  or  like  a  beast  Avithout  legs,  or 
like  a  fish  whose  tail  and  fins  a  native  man  has 
cut  off,  if  I  had  love  in  my  heart  toward  God  ? 
O !  I  wish  I  was  not  all  lips  and  mouth,  in  my 
prayers  to  God.  I  am  thinking  that  I  may  be 
likened  to  a  stagnant  water,  that  is  not  good, 
that  nobody  drinks,  and  that  does  not  run  down 
in  brooks,  upon  the  banks  of  which  kumara  and 
trees  grow.     My  heart  is  all  rock,  all  rock,  and 


THE   APOSTLE   OF   THE   MAOKIS.  55 

no  good  thing  Avill  grow  upon  it.  The  lizard  and 
the  snail  run  over  the  rocks,  and  all  evil  runs 
over  my  heart." 

A  young  Maori  who  was  living  with  Mr.  King, 
the  missionary,  wrote  on  the  back  of  a  book : 
"O  Jesus,  we  cannot  perfectly  believe  in  thee, 
we  are  bound  by  the  evil  spirit,  and  he  will  not 
let  our  hearts  go  free,  lest  we  should  believe  in 
thee  and  be  saved.  O  Jesus,  Son  of  God.  O 
Jesus,  how  great  is  thy  love  to  us.  Thou  didst 
descend  from  heaven,  when  thou  didst  under- 
stand the  anger  of  thy  Father  to  all  mankind. 
They  were  going  to  the  place  of  punishment. 
They  were  not  seeking  after  God.  Thou  didst 
say  to  thy  Father,  '  Let  thine  anger  to  mankind 
cease.  I  am  tlieir  substitute.  I  go  to  the  woi'ld 
to  be  slain  as  a  satisfaction  for  their  sins.  I  will 
purchase  them  with  my  blood.'  " 

A  chief  one  day  came  to  Mr.  Davis,  accom- 
panied by  two  young  men,  and  said  :  "  I  come 
to  know  what  I  must  do  with  the  rubbish  that 
is  about  my  place  in  my  lioiise,"  (meaning  his 
heart).  The  missionary  rei)lie(l,  "I  have  told 
you  that  you  must  ])ray  for  strength  from  on 
high  to  enable  you  to  clear  it  away."  "  Vos," 
ho  said,  "T  wish  to  clear  out  my  house  in  order 
tli.'ii  the  Holy  S])irit  may  come  in  and  dwell 
in  it." 

The    translation   of    the   !Scrii)tures   into    the 


0(j  THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   JlAOlilS. 

]\raori  language  in  1835  was  the  j^ivot  which 
turned  the  hearts  of  the  savage  to  embrace 
Christianity.  The  young  and  old  diligently  read 
the  Bible.  The  chief  of  sixty  would  sit  beside 
the  child  of  six,  spelling  out  the  lesson  in  the 
class,  and  desiring  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word. 
The  introduction  of  a  printing  press  into  the  mis- 
sion colony  was  also  an  invaluable  help.  A 
young  Maori,  who  had  been  trained  in  a  printing 
office  at  Sydney,  was  employed  at  the  printing 
office,  printing  hymns  in  the  native  language, 
which  the  people  committed  to  memory  and  sang 
with  great  animation.  The  missionaries  thought 
of  abandoning  the  station  at  Rangihona,  with  a 
view  of  strengthening  the  others.  The  chiefs 
were  opposed.  They  told  Mr.  Marsden  :  "  When 
you  are  gone,  no  one  shall  touch  your  houses, 
but  they  shall  stand  empty  until  they  rot  and  fall 
down  ;  and  when  any  Europeans  coine  on  shore  and 
inquire  whose  houses  they  are,  we  shall  tell  them 
they  belong  to  the  missionaries,  who  left  us  with- 
out any  cause,  and  they  now  stand  as  a  monu- 
ment of  disgrace." 

AVhen  the  apostle  made  his  seventh  and  last 
visit  to  New  Zealand,  in  the  year  1837,  he  found 
the  old  system  of  heathenism  on  the  wane,  the 
spell  of  the  tapu  broken,  the  chiefs  no  longer 
sacred,  and  the  power  of  the  priesthood  over- 
thrown.    The  priests  would  say  to  the  mission- 


THE   APOSTLE   OF   THE   MAORIS.  57 

aries :  "  You  tell  us  that  your  God  created  man, 
but  your  Bible  does  not  say  how  he  did  it. 
Where  did  he  begin — at  the  head  or  at  the  foot  ? 
And  your  Bible  says  that  he  created  the  heavens 
before  the  earth ;  then,  he  began  at  the  top  first, 
and  this  contradicts  all  our  experience.  We  see 
the  trees  grow  upward ;  and  we  see  men,  when 
they  build  a  house,  begin  at  the  foundation ;  no- 
body begins  at  the  roof  and  builds  downward." 

In  the  year  1840,  the  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety had  twelve  stations,  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  communicants,  eight  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  sixty  attendants  at  public  worship, 
seventy-two  schools,  with  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  ninety-six  scholars ;  and  the  Wes- 
leyan  Mission,  in  1838,  had  sixteen  preaching 
stations  in  the  Ilokiangu  district.  The  Maori 
Mission  was  now  acknowledged  by  all  Christians 
to  be  one  of  the  most  successful  missionary  enter- 
prises in  history. 

Mr.  Marsden,  the  founder  of  this  glorious 
work,  died  in  his  own  home,  in  Sydney,  after  a 
short  illness,  on  May  12,  1838.  His  last  words 
were  a  prayer  for  the  Maoris. 

So  departed  the  man  of  CJod,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two;  and  his  forty-four  3'ears'  service  in 
Australia,  have  left  a  monument  Ix'liind  him  more 
lasting  than  brass  and  higher  lli.in  the  pyramids. 
The  names  of  Cook,  the  discoverer,  and  ]\[arsden, 


58  THE   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

the  apostle  and  friend  of  the  Maoris,  shall  never 
be  forgotten  in  the  annals  of  New  Zealand. 

Three  years  after,  Bishop  Sehvyn  upon  his  ar- 
rival in  the  colony  found  a  nation  of  pagans  con- 
verted to  the  faith.  "  God  had  given  a  new  heart 
and  a  new  spirit  to  thousands  after  thousands  of 
our  fellow-creatures  in  that  distant  quarter  of  the 
earth.  Young  men  and  maidens,  old  men  and 
children,  all  with  one  heart  and  with  one  voice 
praising  God — all  offering  up  daily  their  morn- 
ing and  evening  prayers.  All  searching  the  Scrip- 
tures to  find  the  way  of  eternal  life.  All  valuing 
the  word  of  God  above  all  other  gifts.  All  in 
greater  or  less  degree  visibly  displaying  in  their 
outward  lives  some  fruit  of  the  spirit.  Where 
will  you  find  throughout  the  world  more  signal 
manifestations  of  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  or  more 
living  evidences  of  the  kingdom  of  it  ?  " 


CHAPTER  YI. 

TKIBAL   WAR. 

Chief  Hongi  was  kind  to  the  missionaries  but 
his  heart  was  still  unchanged.  He  was  a  born 
leader,  and  a  man  of  war  from  his  youth.  In 
182(1,  he  went  to  England  to  procure  arms  to 
avenge  an  insult.  AVhen  in  London  he  gained 
much  attention.  King  George  and  his  subjects 
honored  him  with  marked  kindness.  Presents 
were  given  to  him  in  abundance  until  he  was 
rich.  Thousands  came  to  see  the  cannibaL  lie 
stayed  at  Cambridge  for  some  time  assisting 
Professor  Lee  in  getting  up  a  dictionary  of  the 
Maori  language.  His  ambition  was  greatly  in- 
tensified. "  There  is  but  one  king  in  England," 
he  said,  •'  and  there  shall  only  be  one  king  in 
New  Zealand."  Returning  to  New  Zealand  by 
tlie  way  of  Sydney,  there  ho  excliangcd  some  of 
his  presents  for  more;  muskets  and  powder.  Tlioi-e 
he  met  Ilinaki,  witli  whom  lie  li;i(l  :in  old  feud, 
and  refpiested  him  to  go  hornet  and  fortify  his  ])a 
and  prei)are  for  war.  When  ho  returned  to  N<'w 
Zealand  he  calhsd  a  conl'oronco  of  his  tribe,  and 
told  them  of  what  ho  had  s(!en  in  England,  and 
that  he  wanted  to  con(|uor  the  island  and  be  a  king 

59 


00  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

like  King  George.  Warriors  gathered  round 
him.  A  fearful  battle  took  i)lace  between  him 
and  Ilinaki.  Ilongi  shot  the  latter,  and  scooped 
out  the  eye  of  the  dying  chief,  swallowed  it  and 
drank  the  warm  blood  as  it  oozed  from  his 
wounds.  A  thousand  soldiers  were  killed,  and 
three  hundred  of  them  were  roasted  and  eaten  on 
the  battlefield.  Hongi's  name  now  became  a  ter- 
ror throughout  the  land.  He  carried  on  war 
systematically  on  one  tribe  after  the  other,  until 
practically  he  became  the  recognized  leader  in 
the  North  island — the  Napoleon  of  New  Zea- 
land. 

In  1827  he  visited  the  "Wangaroa  tribe,  where 
he  was  shot  through  the  lungs,  and  six  months 
after  he  died  as  he  had  lived.  His  warriors  de- 
stroyed the  Methodist  Mission,  and  burned  it  to 
the  ground.  The  missionaries  at  Wangaroa  fled 
to  the  Church  Mission  at  Kerikeri,  having  lost 
all  their  propert}^,  and,  to  all  appearances,  the 
fruit  of  four  j^ears'  hard  work. 

Pomare,  another  chief  of  his  tribe,  succeeded 
Ilongi,  and  committed  awful  atrocities  on  neigh- 
boring tribes.  These  were  days  of  bloodshed. 
It  is  estimated  that  in  these  tribal  wars  from 
1820  to  1839  no  less  than  twenty  thousand  Ma- 
oris were  killed.  Fire  arms  were  bought  from 
European  traders  at  high  prices.  Te  Whoro 
Whoro,  a  chief  of  the  Waikato  tribe,  conquered 


TRIBAL   WAR.  61 

and  killed  Pomare  with  five  hundred  of  his  men. 
Te  Whoro  "Whoro  held  the  leadership  for  a  time, 
until  the  famous  Euaparaha,  a  most  determined 
and  skillful  Maori  leader,  attacked  Te  Whoro 
AVhoro,  and  after  several  dreadful  battles,  when 
many  were  killed  on  both  sides,  Ruaparaha  was 
obliged  to  retreat  with  his  tribes,  men,  women, 
and  children,  and  set  out  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Cook 
Strait,  now  known  as  the  District  of  Welling- 
ton, lie  fought  his  way  through  hostile  tribes 
until  he  subdued  them  all,  and  established  him- 
self and  his  tribes  at  Kapiti,  (an  island  now  re- 
served by  the  government  for  native  birds).  He 
crossed  over  to  Nelson  and  waged  war  with 
tribes  there,  and  became  the  recognized  leader 
of  that  province.  Captain  Wakefield,  of  the  New 
Zealand  Land  Company,  claimed  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Wairau  for  the  New  Zealand  Com- 
pany by  purchase,  but  the  natives  denied  having 
sold  him  the  land.  Ruaparaha  claimed  it  by 
conquest.  Men  were  sent  from  Wellington  to 
survey  the  land  for  the  company.  Ruaparaha 
and  his  son-in-law,  Rangihaeata,  regarded  that  as 
taking  possession.  They  ol)jected,  and  burned  tlie 
huts.  A  warrant  for  tlieir  arrest  was  issued.  ]\Ir. 
Thompson,  Captain  AVakefield  and  eight  other 
gentlemen  and  forty  armed  men  volunteered  to 
execute  it.  They  met  the  chief  and  his  son-in-law 
in  a  valley,  surrounded  witli  one  hundred  men 


(52  TJIE    CUNVKIiSlON    OF   TJIE    MAORIS. 

waiting  for  an  attack.  After  some  warm  words, 
the  AVakelickl  party  attempted  to  arrest  liiiapa- 
raha;  in  the  struggle  a  shot  killed  his  daughter. 
This  aroused  the  warriors  and  a  bloody  battle 
began.  Thirteen  white  men  were  killed  and  nine 
massacred,  and  five  natives.  Ruaparaha  and  his 
company  returned  home  to  the  North  island. 
There  he  waged  war  at  the  Hutt  and  "Welling- 
ton. Then  he  crossed  again  to  Nelson,  and  hired 
a  ship  to  carry  him  and  his  party  to  Akaroa,  where 
he  massacred  the  people  of  that  village  and  car- 
ried the  chief,  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  back 
to  Nelson.  From  there  he  went  to  some  parts 
of  the  Middle  island  as  far  as  Kaiapoi,  and  there 
set  fire  to  the  pa  and  burned  the  inhabitants. 
He  returned  to  his  stronghold  at  Cook  Strait, 
and  settled  down  again.  The  governor,  being 
suspicious  of  his  plots,  seized  him  at  night  when 
asleep,  and  carried  him  as  a  prisoner  to  Auck- 
land. After  being  kept  there  for  some  time  in 
custody,  he  was  released,  and  returned  to  his 
tribes.  On  his  arrival,  he  found  that  they  had 
embraced  Christianity,  and  his  son  was  preach- 
ing to  the  tribes  he  had  conquered  and  looked 
upon  as  enemies.  Ruaparaha  became  interested 
in  religion ;  he  assisted  in  building  a  church,  and 
died  a  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  as  his  Saviour. 
To-day  are  seen  at  Otako  two  monuments,  the  one 
a  strange  Maori  obelisk,  and  the  other  a  marble 


TRIBAL    WAR.  63 

bust  of  the  great  warrior.  In  the  valley  of 
Wairau,  near  Blenheim,  is  also  seen  a  beautiful 
monument  at  Massacre  Hill,  which  marks  the 
place  where  he  and  his  party  had  massacred  Cap- 
tain AVakefield  and  his  friends. 

The  Maoris  were  now  getting  tired  of  war,  and 
gradually  it  became  less  frequent.  The  custom  of 
feasting  on  the  dead  bodies  of  their  slain  nearly 
ceased.  The  missionaries  had  acquired  a  good 
knowledge  of  their  language  ;  they  could  speak 
and  preach  to  them  intelligently ;  their  habits 
and  manner  of  living  appealed  to  the  natives' 
rude  and  savage  state.  The  natives  who  at- 
tended school  and  church  were  improving  the 
op[)()rtunity  and  nuiking  ra})id  progress  in  civi- 
lization. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  a  most  interesting  writer 
on  "  Nation  ]\Iaking,"  that  the  two  great  barriers 
to  the  early  Christian  progress  of  the  Maoris 
were  the  non-acquirement  of  our  language  and 
the  inability  to  overcome  their  ])arbarous  habits 
and  superstitions  which  had  been  lianded  down 
to  them  from  their  ancestors.  Instead  of  teach- 
ing the  Maoris  English,  the  missionaries  tried  to 
make  their  pnmitive  language  suit  the  new  condi- 
tion of  things  ;  so  a  mixed  language  arose,  which 
was  neither  one  thing  nor  the  other.  IMany  of  the 
diHiciilties  which  the  early  missionaries  encoun- 
tered, arose  from  their  lack  of  know  ledge  (jf  the 


G4  THE   CONVEESION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

Maori  language  and  customs.  When  the  mission- 
aries began  to  understand  the  native  language, 
they  found  the  Maoris  kind  and  responsive.  We 
cannot  but  admire  the  faithful  missionaries  never- 
theless, in  their  hard  struggle  in  acquiring  knovi^l- 
edge  of  the  Maori  tongue  without  any  aid  except 
what  they  could  gather  from  them  in  their  ordi- 
nary conversation,  and  in  their  persistent  efforts 
of  ten  years'  toil  without  any  convert,  until  the 
Lord  opened  the  heart  of  llangi  to  believe. 

Bishop  William  Williams  of  Waiapu,  wrote : 
"  During  the  first  year  of  the  establishment  of 
the  government,  the  spirit  of  inquiry  after  Chris- 
tianity was  greatly  on  the  increase.  In  many 
it  proceeded  from  a  clear  conviction  of  the  evil 
of  their  former  system,  and  of  the  blessings  which 
Christianity  afforded  to  them.  .  .  .  The  peo- 
ple now  flocked  in  large  numbers  to  attend  the 
classes  of  candidates  for  baptism.  This  was  par- 
ticularly the  case  in  the  old  stations  on  the  Bay 
of  Islands,  and  also  at  the  Waikato  and  the 
Thames,  and  in  almost  every  part  of  the  country 
the  profession  of  Christianity  became  so  general 
that  the  total  number  of  attendants  at  public 
worship  was  estimated  at  not  less  than  thirty 
thousand  besides  those  in  connection  with  the 
Wesleyan  Mission.  .  .  .  When  the  liberal 
grant  of  ten  thousand  Testaments  from  the  Bible 
Society  reached  New  Zealand,  they  were  quickly 


TRIBAL    WAK.  65 

put  in  circulation  and  another  supply  was  writ- 
ten for,  the  larger  number  of  them  being  at  once 
paid  for  at  the  full  price.  The  first  case  which 
reached  Tauranga,  four  hundred  and  ninety  cop- 
ies, was  disposed  of  in  eight  days.  It  follows, 
therefore,  that  there  were  many  who  were  able 
to  read,  or  if  they  could  not  read,  there  Avas  an 
inducement  for  them  to  learn  as  soon  as  they 
possessed  the  book." 

A  Maori  could  not  have  a  Bible  unless  he  JSrst 
read  a  verse  out  of  it.  There  was  one  old  woman 
who  gave  up  coloring  her  face  with  red  paint  and 
oil,  so  that  she  might  have  a  Bible.  Then  she 
gave  up  her  pipe  for  a  prayer  book  and  sat  in 
a  prominent  seat  in  the  church  so  that  people 
might  see  how  good  she  was.  She  observed  the 
Sabbath  very  strictly,  said  grace  before  meals 
and  had  morning  prayers. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MISSIONARY   LEADERS. 

After  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Marsden,  in 
1838,  the  responsibility  of  carrying  on  the  Maori 
Church  Mission  rested  on  his  trustworthy  friend 
and  coworker,  the  Rev.  Henry  Williams,  a  man  of 
most  excellent  traits  of  character.  His  varied  gifts 
of  tact,  firmness,  gentleness  and  courage,  which 
had  been  so  often  called  in  use  in  his  dealings 
with  the  Maoris,  had  been  a  wonder  to  many. 
The  natives  had  unbounded  confidence  in  him  as 
a  friend  and  peacemaker.  His  life  among  them  is 
full  of  the  most  thrilling  instances  of  bravery  and 
courage.  At  one  time  two  powerful  tribes  were 
at  war  with  each  other.  Mr.  Williams  fearlessly 
entered  the  battlefield  as  a  peacemaker  between 
the  warriors.  He  arrived  there,  unarmed,  on 
Saturday,  and  persuaded  them  to  abstain  from 
hostilities  on  Sunday.  They  sat  down  to  hear 
him  preach  to  them  a  sermon  on  the  love  of 
Christ.  On  the  following  Monday,  Mr.  Williams 
walked  with  the  chief,  Tahitapu,  carrying  a  flag 
of  truce  to  the  enemy's  camp,  and,  after  the  usual 

G6 


MISSIONARY    LEADERS.  G7 

palaver,  the  armies  were  disbanded,  and  peace  was 
proclaimed.  Shortly  after,  one  of  the  old  chiefs 
came  to  see  him,  holding  up  in  his  hand  a  war 
weapon,  and  cried,  "  Sixteen  persons  by  this  time 
have  been  sent  to  hell ;  and  unless  I  can  kill  and 
eat  someone  now,  I  shall  have  no  rest."  Mr. 
AVilliams  approached  him  and  laid  his  hand 
gently  on  his  shoulder,  and  calmly  reproved  him 
for  his  conduct.  The  old  man  changed  his  mind 
and  threw  away  the  hatchet,  saying,  "I  will  use 
it  no  more."  The  natives  loved  Mr.  Williams 
dearly.  After  his  death,  they  erected  a  memorial 
at  Pailua  for  him,  costing  one  thousand  dollars. 
The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed. 

"  Christianity  among  the  New  Zealanders," 
by  Bishop  AVilliams  of  "Waiapu,  is  a  book  of 
most  thrilling  stories  of  the  power  of  the  gospel 
among  the  Maoris,  as  well  as  of  many  cases  of 
hardship,  danger  and  daring  adventures  whicli 
the  missionaries  constantly  experienced.  "  There 
is  something  grand  and  wonderful  in  the  change 
which  is  wrought  l>y  the  gospel — that  those  who 
are  by  nature  the  chihh'en  of  wrath  should  be- 
come the  chiUlren  of  God  ;  and  this  transition 
becomes  more  striking  in  the  casn  of  lieatiiens — 
savage  hcatliens  wlio  are  in  the  very  lowest 
grade  of  human  l)eings."  "  In  seasons  of  native 
baptism,"  sin'il  Mr.  ( 'li;i|)iii:m,  "  t  lie  t  idc  of  a^cs, 
<lark    a'T'S,    Idoody    «'ig<'S,    ages    of    murder    and 


C8  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

treachery,  cruelt}^  iiiid  hatred,  rolls  as  it  were 
before  me ;  and  yet,  here  stand  the  children  of 
murderers  accepting'  offered  mercy  and  desirin<^ 
to  wash  all  their  guilty  stains  away.  Thoughts, 
such  as  these,  force  themselves  upon  me,  and  I 
must  weep." 

The  three  mighty  men  connected  with  the 
Maori  Church  Mission  w^ere  Samuel  Marsden,  the 
founder ;  Henry  Williams,  the  peacemaker ;  and 
George  Augustus  Sehvyn,  the  father  of  the  Church 
of  England  in  Maori-land.  Though  other  mis- 
sionaries were  remarkable  men,  yet  none  of  them 
attained  to  the  strength  of  the  first  three. 

Bishop  G.  A.  Selwyn  was  a  scholar,  a  dis- 
tinguished student,  and  a  clergyman  of  great 
promise  long  before  he  was  ordained  to  the 
bishopric  of  Xew  Zealand.  He  arrived  at  the 
Bay  of  Islands  at  the  age  of  thirty-three,  in  the 
year  1842 — at  a  time  when  his  zeal  and  person- 
ality were  greatly  needed  in  both  the  Church 
and  State.  He  had  with  him  several  students 
and  clergymen.  They  took  up  their  quarters  at 
Auckland.  Bishop  Selwyn  was  blessed  with  a 
strong  frame,  cultured  mind  and  apostolic  zeal. 
Few  could  equal  him  as  a  pedestrian.  He  would 
walk  through  the  thickest  bush,  scale  the  steepest 
mountain  and  swim  the  widest  river,  and,  after- 
wards, sleep  all  night  in  the  open  air.  For 
months  he  could  live  on  Maori  f(K)d.     He  wrote 


MISSIONARY   LEADERS.  09 

ill  his  journal,  after  returning  from  a  circuit  of  six 
months'  visitation  in  the  interior :  "  My  last  pair 
of  thick  shoes  were  worn  out,  and  my  feet  much 
blistered  with  walking  on  the  stumps,  which  I 
was  obliged  to  tie  to  my  insteps  with  pieces  of 
native  flax.  I  landed  at  Onehunga  (seven  miles 
from  Auckland)  with  ray  faithful  Maori,  Rota, 
who  had  steadily  accompanied  me  from  Kapiti, 
carrying  my  bag,  of  gown  and  cassock,  tlie  otdy 
remaining  articles  in  my  possession  of  the  least 
value.  The  suit  which  I  wore  was  kept  suf- 
ficiently decent,  by  much  care,  to  enable  me  to 
enter  Auckland  by  daylight ;  and  my  last  re- 
maining pair  of  shoes  (thin  ones)  were  strong 
enough  for  the  light  and  sandy  walk  of  six  miles 
which  remained  from  IManukau  to  Auckland. 
At  two  P.  M.  I  reached  the  judge's  house,  by  a 
path,  avoiding  the  town,  and  passing  over  land 
which  I  have  bouglit  for  the  site  of  the  cathedral, 
a  spot  which  I  ho{)e  may  hereafter  be  traversed 
by  the  feet  of  many  bishops  better  shod  and  far 
less  ragged  than  myself." 

In  his  first  charge  to  his  clergy  in  Is47,  is  em- 
bodied his  own  example.  He  said:  "  You  have 
heard  already  the  ddinition  of  the  venerable  l)e(lo, 
that  the  ei)iscoj^ate  is  a  title,  not  of  honor,  but  of 
work ;  and  in  that  spirit  I  trust  to  be  enabled  to 
exercise  my  oflice."  And  again  :  "  I  jmiy,  in  the 
name  of  the  crucified  Master,  that  we  uvAy  never 


70  THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MAORIS. 

here  discuss  the  question,  'Which  shall -be  the 
greatest  ? '  It  is  hoped  that  the  title  of  a  dig- 
nitary of  the  Church  will  never  be  heard  in  New 
Zealand.  If  I  designed  the  oiRce  of  archdeacon 
to  be  a  mere  peacock's  feather  to  distinguish  one 
clergyman  above  his  brethren,  I  would  not  offer 
it  to  the  acceptance  of  any  one  who  had  borne 
his  Master's  cross,  in  retirement  and  self-denial, 
in  the  mission  field.  No  earthly  dignity  either 
in  Church  or  State,  can  equal  the  moral  grandeur 
of  the  leather  girdle  and  the  raiment  of  camel's 
hair,  or  the  going  forth  without  purse  or  scrip, 
and  yet  lacking  nothing." 

The  Rev.  James  Buller,  an  eminent  minister  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  who  had  been  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  bishop  during  the  twenty- 
five  years  he  labored  in  New  Zealand,  said : 
"He  neglected  no  part  of  his  wide  diocese. 
Both  races  Avere  the  object  of  his  care.  By  a 
judicious  foresight,  he  secured,  by  gift  or  pur- 
chase, convenient  sites  and  valuable  endowments 
all  over  the  land  before  they  had  acquired  a  high 
market  price.  By  dint  of  great  labor,  involving 
more  than  one  voyage  to  England,  he  framed  and 
set  in  motion  a  constitution  for  his  Church  in 
New  Zealand,  by  which  his  own  power  was  re- 
duced to  a  fraction.  Moreover,  there  was  hardl}'^ 
a  settlement,  however  remote,  a  Maori  village, 
however  small,  or  a  mission  station,  however  dis- 


MISSIONARY    LEADERS.  71 

tant,  that  he  did  not  personally  visit.  He  spared 
not  himself." 

xVfter  his  return  to  England  in  1867,  to  take 
charge  of  the  See  of  Lichlield,  he  wrote  :  "  I 
never  felt  the  blessing  of  the  Lord's  day  as  a  day 
of  rest  more  than  in  Kew  Zealand,  where,  after 
encamping  late  on  Saturday  night  with  a  weary 
party,  you  will  find  them  early  on  the  Sunday 
morning  seated  quietly  round  their  fires  with 
the  New  Testament  in  their  hands — old  tattooed 
warriors  side  by  side  with  young  men  and  boys, 
submitting  to  lose  their  place  for  every  mistake 
with  the  most  perfect  good  humor." 

On  Trinity  Sunday,  May  22,  1853,  he  ordained 
Rota  to  the  office  of  a  deacon  in  St.  Paul's 
church,  Auckland  ;  a  day  wliich  he  always  spoke 
of  as  to  be  much  remembered  with  thankfulness. 
Rota  was  a  young  Maori,  and  one  of  the  bishop's 
trusty  companions  in  his  missionary  journeys. 
Rota  imitated  his  Master  in  his  lal)or  of  love 
for  liis  race.  lie  (Ii('(l  in  the  faith  after  twelve 
years  of  faitliful  work.  Tlie  following  two 
verses  were  a  part  of  a  poem  read  at  his  ordina- 
tion: 

"0!  kneeling  at  a  Cliristian  shrine, 
Within  thine  own  unconi|ucrcd  land, 
May  Ood,  the  Takclia's  (Jod  and  thine, 
Admit  thee  witli  his  ^racc  divine, 
And  touch  thee  with  liis  wounded  side  I 


72  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

"My  soul  is  bow'd  in  speechless  prayer, 
For  thee,  thou  dark  brow'd  man ; 
God  lead  thee  by  the  rivers  fair, 
And  should  thy  spirit  faint  with  care. 
Refresh  thee,  for  alone  he  can." 

Bishop  Selwyn  was  a  high  churchman.  For 
twenty  years  the  Episcopalian  and  AVesleyan  mis- 
sionaries in  New  Zealand  had  used  the  same  form 
of  divine  worship,  preaching  the  same  doctrines 
and  exercising  the  same  system  of  moral  disci- 
pline. Ministers  of  both  churches,  as  well  as 
members,  lived  in  peace  and  harmony  and  the 
Lord  blessed  their  efforts.  The  headquarters  of 
the  Church  Missionaries  were  the  Bay  of  Islands, 
and  those  of  the  Wesleyans  at  Hokianga,  with 
only  a  narrow  strip  of  land  between  them,  the 
one  stretching  as  far  as  the  Thames  and  Poverty 
Bay,  and  the  other  along  the  western  coast,  to 
Cook  Strait.  Such  were  the  general  arrange- 
ments agreed  upon  by  the  two  societies,  both  at 
home  and  in  New  Zealand.  Bishop  Selwyn,  on 
his  arrival  in  New  Zealand,  drew  a  line  of  dis- 
tinction. The  "VVesleyan  missionaries  were  con- 
sidered to  be  unsound  in  doctrine,  and  not  of 
divine  authority.  The  rite  of  baptism,  adminis- 
tered by  them,  must  be  repeated  by  the  ])ishop 
and  his  clergy,  in  order  to  be  effectual.  This  re- 
sulted in  differences  of  opinion,  among  clergy 
and  converts.     Some  years  afterwards  he  saw  the 


MISSIONARY   LEADERS.  73 

evil  of  sectarianism,  and,  with  sorrow,  deplored 
the  trouble  it  made  in  the  mission  field. 

In  1847,  addressing  his  clergy,  he  said  :  "  The 
divisions  of  Christian  men  are  a  hindrance  to 
the  faith  at  all  times.  When  I  asked  a  New 
Zealand  chief  why  he  refused  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian, he  stretched  out  three  lingers,  and  replied, 
'  I  have  come  to  the  crossroad,  and  I  see  three 
ways — the  English,  the  AVesleyan,  and  the  Ro- 
man. Each  teacher  says  his  own  wny  is  tlie 
best.  I  am  sitting  down,  and  doubting  which 
guide  I  shall  follow.'  " 

The  ])ishop  and  his  clergy  did  a  grand  work  in 
New  Zeakind,  the  fruits  of  which  are  evident  to- 
day, to  those  who  have  entered  into  their  labors. 
The  bishop  returned  to  Engkind  in  1807  and  be- 
came Bishop  of  Lichfield,  where  he  showed  the 
same  enthusiasm  in  his  work  as  in  New  Zealand. 
lie  died  in  April,  1878. 

In  1838,  tlie  Koman  Catholic  Bishop  Pom})ailer, 
with  two  priests,  began  work  in  tlie  town  of 
Kororareka,  in  the  Bay  of  Islands,  and  after  the 
destruction  of  the  town  by  Hone  Ilckc's  war- 
riors, they  returned  to  Auckland.  He  was  sup- 
plied with  funds  by  the  Propaganda  Fidci,  and 
soon  the  staff  was  increased  to  twenty  ])ri('sts, 
besides  many  laymen.  They  were  all  l''i-eiu'h- 
men.  They  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
Protestant  missionaries.      Thev   laboi-ed    jtard  to 


74  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

draw  the  natives,  who  liad  professed  Christian- 
ity, to  their  religion.  Trolitless  disputes  ])re- 
vailed  between  them  and  the  Protestant  mis- 
sionaries, which  raised  sus})icion  and  doubt  in 
the  minds  of  many  of  the  native  Christians. 
A  Maori  once  said :  "  You  missionaries  are 
teaching  us  to  look  up  to  heaven,  but  your  own 
eyes  are  all  the  time  directed  on  earth ;  "  again  : 
"  There  are  a  great  many  religions  believing  in 
Jesus  Christ — the  Church  of  England,  the  Eonum 
Catholic  and  the  Methodist,  It  is  not  necessary 
that  we  should  trouble  ourselves  to  find  out 
which  is  best.  Their  words  are  many,  but  their 
faith  is  one.  All  that  is  needed  for  us  to  do  is 
believe  that  Jesus  Christ,  the  son  of  God,  became 
man,  that  he  gave  himself  a  living  man  for  liv- 
ing men  as  utu  (ransom)  for  us  who  have  all 
sinned,  that  he  was  ready  to  make  j^ayments  for 
all  who  desire  it,  and  will  live  their  lives  rightly. 
Jesus  said,  'All  ye  that  thirst,  come  and  drink  of 
the  water  of  life.'  AVhen  I  am  thirsty,  if  the 
water  is  pure,  I  don't  refuse  to  drink,  whether 
the  water  comes  to  me  in  a  shell,  a  calabash  or 
pannikin  (tin  pot).     I  am  thirsty  and  I  drink." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   METHODIST   MISSION. 

The  mission  of  the  Methodist  Church  was 
founded  in  Xew  Zealand  in  1822,  by  the  Eev. 
Samuel  Leigh,  just  nine  years  after  the  Church 
Mission  had  been  established  by  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Marsden.  Indeed,  both  pioneers  had  a  striking  re- 
semblance in  history  and  character.  They  were 
staunch  friends,  each  rejoicing-  in  the  prosperity 
of  the  other.  Mr.  Leigh  was  sent  out  to  Aus- 
tralia in  1815,  as  the  first  ]\Iethodist  minister  to 
labor  among  the  colonists  of  New  South  AVales. 
Ilis  ministry  there  was  greatly  blessed.  But  in 
1810  his  liealth  failed,  and,  at  the  request  of  ]\Ir. 
Marsden,  he  took  a  trip  in  the  "Active"  to  visit 
the  Church  Mission  in  New  Zealand.  During  liis 
stay  of  nine  months  witli  the  missionaries,  lie 
was  introduced  to  scenes  of  cannibalism,  degrada- 
tion, and  the  most  appalling  barbarism.  On  tiie 
second  Sunday  he  went  to  a  neighboring  village, 
and  was  shocked  on  being  offered  twelve  huiiiiin 
heads  with  the  expectut  ion  that  lie  wouhl  l)iiy 
them.  On  anotliei-  (hiy,  lie  saw  a  l)oy's  head 
wash(?d  and  <iit  ii|)  and  laid  on  a  lin;  to  roast. 
75 


70  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

The  lad  was  killed  for  stealing  kumaras  from  a 
chief's  garden.  Mr.  Leigh  interfered  by  giving 
an  ax  for  the  boy's  remains,  which  he  brought 
to  the  mission  station  and  buried  with  ceremony 
in  the  presence  of  many  spectators.  "  His  spirit 
was  stirred  in  him."  What  could  he  do  to  ele- 
vate the  Maori  savage  ?  was  the  thought  that 
absorbed  his  mind.  In  1820,  he  returned  to 
England.  On  his  arrival  in  London,  he  laid  be- 
fore the  Wesleyan  Society  the  need  of  New  Zea- 
land and  its  claim  on  the  Church.  He  offered  liis 
services  to  start  a  Maori  mission  in  that  dark  land. 
He  received  no  encouragement  from  them,  as  the 
society  was  $50,000  in  debt.  But  Mr.  Leigh  was 
determined.  He  proposed  a  project  to  start  the 
mission — by  soliciting  goods  such  as  could  be 
given,  in  exchange  for  land,  to  the  Maoris.  He 
was  very  successful  in  obtaining  a  large  quan- 
tity of  goods  of  various  kinds  from  merchants 
throughout  England  for  his  mission  in  New  Zea- 
land. It  is  said  that  donations  were  so  generous 
as  to  have  supported  the  mission  for  five  years 
free  of  cost. 

On  February  22,  1822,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leigh  ar- 
rived in  New  Zealand  to  begin  mission  work 
among  the  Maoris.  The  Church  missionaries  re- 
ceived them  gladlv,  and  did  their  best  to  promote 
their  interest.  After  prayer,  thought,  and  consul- 
tation with  the  brethren  of  the  Church  Society, 


TUi:   METHODIST   MISSION.  77 

TVangaroa  was  chosen  as  the  mission  station. 
Land  was  bought  and  a  few  rough  houses  were 
built. 

On  their  iirst  Sunday,  a  war  canoe  hmded  at 
the  village,  laden  with  slaves,  one  of  whom  was 
killed,  roasted  and  eaten.  In  this  beautiful  his- 
toric village  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leigh  faithfully  and 
earnestly  labored  for  the  welfare  of  the  Maoris 
until  ill  health  compelled  them  to  return  to  Syd- 
ney. The  mission  stalf  had  been  increased,  valu- 
able property  had  been  secured,  and  several  schol- 
ars in  tlie  school  had  made  progress  in  reading 
and  writing.  Kev.  Kathaniel  Turner  succeeded 
Mr.  Leigh  as  superintendent  of  the  mission.  He 
was  assisted  by  his  wife,  and  Messrs.  White, 
Hobl)S,  Stalk,  and  AV^ade.  Mr.  Stalk  alone  of  the 
staff  could  speak  the  Maori  language. 

George  (a  chief),  the  man  who  had  planned 
the  destruction  of  the  "Boyd,"  was  causing  much 
trouble.  When  angry,  he  would  threaten  them 
with  murder.  After  his  rage  was  over,  placing 
his  hand  to  liis  lieart,  he  would  say  :  "  When  my 
heart  is  quiet,  then  I  love  the  missionary  very 
much  ;  but  when  my  heart  rises  to  my  throat,  I 
wouhl  kill  th(j  niissionai-y."  But  it  rose  to  his 
throat  very  often.  'J'lie  lives  of  the  missionaries 
were  in  "jeopardy  every  lioui-."  They  had  wit- 
nessed sevoral  fightings,  jilundci-ings  and  feast- 
ings   on    human    b'^dics.     But  during  the   third 


78  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

year  things  seemed  to  improve;  the  station  was 
quiet,  and  the  missionaries  had  learned  the  lan- 
guage and  made  many  friends.  But  suddenly 
tlieir  tabernacle  was  destroyed,  and  "all  their 
cords  were  broken."  Ilongi  and  his  warriors 
landed,  in  their  canoes,  to  punish  the  Wangaroa 
tribe  for  their  raid  on  the  Europeans.  The  na- 
tives shut  themselves  up  in  their  pa.  The  mis- 
sionaries were  deserted.  A  band  of  soldiers  en- 
tered the  station  to  rob,  burn  and  kill ;  just  as 
the  missionaries  with  their  families  had  made 
their  escape,  taking  nothing  with  them  except 
the  clothes  they  had  on,  and  a  few  pieces  in 
their  hands.  The}'^  had  to  run  in  haste  and  travel 
twenty  miles  through  a  bush  to  the  nearest  Church 
Mission  station.  The  fear  of  being  chased  filled 
them  with  dismay.  They  were  exhausted  when 
Bishop  Williams  and  others,  who  had  heard  of 
their  fate,  met  them  six  miles  from  Kerikeri,  but 
the  natives  of  that  place  would  not  allow  them 
to  remain,  in  fear  that  Kerikeri  would  be  the 
next  place  to  fall.  No  place  was  safe  for  them. 
The  Church  missionaries  also,  felt  that  they  were 
all  exposed  to  a  similar  disaster.  They  were, 
therefore,  sent  to  Sydney  by  the  ship  "  Sister " 
on  January  31,  1827.  Thus  temporarily  ended 
the  first  Wesleyan  mission  in  New  Zealand. 

Before  the  end  of  the  year,  however,  the  Revs. 
Hobbs  and  Stalk,  returned  to  New  Zealand,  with 


THE   METHODIST   ailSSION.  79 

the  view  of  reestablishing  the  mission.  Through 
the  invitation  of  Chief  Tatuone,  Maugungu  was 
selected  as  a  suitable  field.  Land  was  bought 
and  a  school  started,  mostly  made  up  of  some  of 
their  former  scholars  who  had  fled  for  refuge 
from  Wangaroa  to  friends  at  Maugungu. 

The  mission  church  was  a  plain  but  substan- 
tial wooden  oblong  building,  built  by  the  natives 
under  the  supervision  of  the  missionaries.  It 
would  hold  live  hundred  men,  seated  on  the 
floor,  after  their  fashion.  The  only  seats  pro- 
vided were  a  few  near  the  desk,  for  the  mis- 
sion families.  On  a  liigli  pole  in  front  of  the 
building,  hung  the  bell  which  summoned  the 
dusky  natives  to  the  house  of  prayer.  Behind 
the  church  were  some  small  rooms  for  storage ; 
next  to  the  church  was  the  schoolhouse.  Three 
or  four  other  houses  further  down,  were  the  resi- 
dences of  tlie  preachers.  It  was  a  lonely  little 
village,  Init  there  God  manifested  his  power  in 
converting  hundreds  to  Christianity.  These 
lonely  missionaries,  forgotten  and  unknown  to 
the  world,  there  in  far  away  New  Zealand, 
sowed  the  seed  of  tli<'  kingdom  of  (iod,  with 
nothing  to  cheer  tliem  but  the  thought  of  being 
coworkers  with  the  great  Foreign  jMissionary, 
tlieir  Lord  and  Master. 

The  missionaries  laljored  hard  for  several 
years,  surrountled  by  much  danger,  before  th(;y 


80  THE   COXVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

siuv  any  result  of  their  faithfulness.  But  the 
year  lS3-i  showed  signs  of  fruitfulness.  Many 
were  converted.  One  day  fourteen  couples  were 
married  and  eighty-one  persons  were  baptized  to 
Christianity.  It  was  a  time  of  great  awakening. 
The  work  of  grace  was  manifested.  The  Si)irit 
was  convicting  of  sin,  righteousness  and  judg- 
ment. 

It  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see  on  the 
beach  before  public  worship  sixty  or  seventy 
canoes  loaded  with  thousands  of  people,  who  had 
come  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  to  hear  the 
Word  of  Life.  They  would  come  on  Saturday, 
so  as  not  to  break  the  Sabbath.  Early  on  Sab- 
bath morning  they  would  find  their  way  to  the 
meetinghouse.  The  whole  aspect  of  the  station 
brouglit  to  mind  the  words  of  David,  "  This  is 
the  day  which  the  Lord  hath  made ;  wo  will  re- 
joice and  be  glad."  These  were  days  of  blessing. 
Hundreds  confessed  their  faith  in  the  Lord  elesus 
as  a  personal  Saviour.  One  day  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  adults  were  baptized,  and  forty-six 
children.  In  18-10,  the  "Wesleyans  had  one  thou- 
sand three  hundred  communicants  and  several 
thousand  attendants  at  divine  worship ;  and  in 
January,  185.5,  they  reported  sixteen  mission  sta- 
tions, twenty  English  ministers,  two  hundred  and 
thirty-four  native  teachers,  and  three  thousand 
and  seventy  Maori  members,  with  seven  thousand 


THE  METHODIST   MlSSIOIf.  81 

five  hundred  and  ninety  regular  hearers,  seventy- 
four  church  buiklings,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  preaching  phices  and  four  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  Maoris  attending  Sunday- 
schools. 

The  Rev.  James  Buller  wrote :  "  I  arrived  at 
my  own  station  late  on  Saturday  evening,  and  was 
thankful  that  all  was  well.  I  had  been  nearly 
three  months  away,  climbing  mountains,  descend- 
ing precipices,  wading  rivers,  ])enetrating  forests, 
sometimes  drenched  witli  rain,  then  boiUng  in 
the  sun,  and  at  night  sleeping  on  the  ground. 
My  traveling  companions  told  thrilling  tales  of 
blood  and  battle — what  hecatombs  of  human 
bodies  had  been  cooked  and  eaten  in  days  gone 
by.  But  with  all,  the  journey  had  its  bright  side. 
I  found  in  most  places  a  people  prepared  for  the 
Lord  and  the  fields  white  unto  the  harvest." 

"There  Avere  some  hap])y  deaths  among  the 
converts,"  again  wrote  Mr.  Buller.  "The  first 
who  was  buried  in  our  new  cemetery  was  Ihapera, 
the  wife  of  T.  W.  Nene.  Some  of  her  last  words 
were  these  :  '  Jesus  is  my  keeper.  lie  keeps 
me  by  night  and  by  day.  In  liiiii  I  trust  and 
rejoice.'"  Six  months  afterwards  lier  daughter 
followed  the  mother  to  the  bettrr  country.  She 
was  a  most  devoted  Christian  woman.  The  fra- 
grance of  her  consistent  life  was  dilfusi-d  over  her 
happy   death.      Her   memory  was  cinbahnrd  iu 


82  THE   CONVERSION   OF   TJIE   MAORIS. 

the  affoction  of  all  who  knew  her.  These  are 
a  few  instances  out  of  many  to  prove  that  the 
gospel  was  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 

On  a  Sunday,  in  1837,  four  converted  young 
chiefs,  in  their  zeal  for  the  Lord,  went  to  preach 
to  a  desperate  gang  of  natives,  headed  by  a  chief 
called  Kaitoke,  and  as  they  began  to  preach  and 
to  tell  them  of  the  love  of  Jesus,  they  were  urged 
to  stop,  but  the  young  men  persisted,  saying  that 
the  Saviour  had  commanded  his  gospel  to  be 
preached  to  all  men.  The  natives  threatened  to 
kill  them  if  they  would  say  more,  but  they  con- 
tinued until  they  shot  them,  and  killed  them. 
News  of  this  tragedy  spread ;  the  whole  com- 
munity was  in  commotion.  Heathen  friends  of 
the  martyrs  wanted  to  avenge  their  death.  Mis- 
sionaries and  Christian  chiefs  used  their  efforts 
for  peace.  Hundreds  of  armed  natives  were 
ready  to  attack  the  foe,  when  some  young  men 
stole  away  and  fired  several  shots,  others  fol- 
lowed and  a  battle  took  place  which  lasted  for 
two  hours.  Several  of  the  enemy  and  Christian 
natives  fell.  Kaitoke  was  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner,  after  which  his  band  lay  down  their 
arms  and  went  to  their  homes.  Ilaimond  Pita, 
an  old  warrior,  who  once  was  the  terror  of  his 
enemies,  but  had  become  a  Christian,  was  one  of 
the  leading  men  in  the  fray.  He  died  two  years 
after,  a  devoted  Christian.     Before  his  death  he 


THE   METHODIST   MISSION.  83 

said  to  one  of  the  missionaries  who  was  visiting 
hini :  "  Don't  ask  the  Lord  to  keep  me  here  any 
longer.  I  have  taken  leave  of  my  people  and 
children.  My  heart  is  in  heaven,  and  I  long  to 
depart."  Kaitoke  himself  became  a  Christian 
the  first  time  he  attended  church.  AViremu 
Patone  prayed  that  God  would  give  the  mur- 
derer a  new  heart.  Others  also  who  were  asso- 
ciated with  him,  received  Christian  baptism. 

A  noted  chief  who  had  lost  his  wife,  a  model 
Christian  woman,  was  much  affected  by  her 
death.  Xot  many  weeks  after,  at  a  meeting,  he 
asked  to  speak  to  the  newly  baptized  converts, 
and  during  his  talk  the  whole  congregation  was 
weeping.  Ilis  exhortation  to  the  converts  was 
mostly  drawn  from  his  own  life  and  experience 
in  which  he  showed  the  vanity  of  this  world  and 
the  riches  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  and  the  hajv 
piness  of  those  who  live  in  communion  with  the 
Saviour,  in  contrast  to  sin  and  tlie  world. 

On  one  occasi<jn  a  number  of  chiefs  were  pres- 
ent at  a  baptism  licld  at  Auckland,  wlio  paid 
much  attention  during  the  wliole  service.  At  the 
conclusion,  one  remarked,  "  Let  us  listen  to  the 
missionaries."  "Yes,"  said  a  chief,  "lioro  am  I 
who  have  never  spared  your  pigs  or  your  jxjtatoes. 
I  have  great  regard  for  my  relatives,  who  liave 
been  selected  from  among  us  this  day.  L<l  us 
all  attend  to  the  instructions  which  they  have 


84  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

listened  to.  Our  fathers  did  not  listen  to  such 
things,  because  there  were  none  to  teach  them  ; 
but  when  foreigners  came  out  and  brought 
guns  and  axes,  they  were  glad  to  obtain  them ; 
and  if  they  had  been  told  of  Jesus  Christ,  they 
would  have  also  received  him,  as  our  friends 
have  to-day." 

A  converted  chief,  named  ISTgakuku,  whose 
little  daughter  was  killed  by  a  war  party  of 
Retorua,  said  to  his  tribes :  "  There  lies  my 
daughter,  she  has  been  murdered  as  a  payment 
of  your  bad  conduct.  But  do  not  you  rise  up  to 
obtain  satisfaction  for  her.  God  will  do  that. 
Let  this  be  the  conclusion  of  the  war  with 
Retorua.  Let  peace  be  made  now.  My  heart  is 
not  sad  for  Tarore,  but  for  you.  You  wished  for 
missionaries  to  come  to  you  to  teach  you.  They 
came  and  now  you  are  driving  them  away.  You 
are  weeping  for  my  daughter,  but  I  am  weeping 
for  you,  for  myself,  for  all  of  us.  Perhaps  this 
murder  is  a  sign  of  God's  anger  toward  us  for 
our  sins.  Turn  to  him,  believe,  or  you  will  all 
perish." 

A  most  remarkable  proof  of  the  power  of  the 
gospel  was  given  in  the  conversion  of  two  rival 
chiefs,  Tamati  W.  Puna,  and  Panapa.  When  the 
former  was  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  he 
happened  to  kneel  next  to  Panapa,  who  had  some 
years    previously   killed   and   eaten   his   father. 


THE  METHODIST   MISSION.  85 

This  "was  the  first  time  they  had  since  met. 
For  a  moment  the  old  spu'it  of  revenge  seized 
Tamati ;  he  rose  and  walked  out.  There  he  lieard 
a  voice — he  told  the  missionary — saying  to  him, 
"  Thereby  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  dis- 
ciples, if  ye  love  one  another."  "  I  thought,"  he 
said,  "  I  saw  a  cross  and  a  man  nailed  to  it,  and  I 
heard  him  say,  '  Father,  forgive  them.'  Then  I 
returned  and  felt  ashamed,  and  came  back  to  the 
altar."  His  emotions  after  the  service  were  ex- 
traordinary. He  said  it  Avas  the  power  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ  that  could  make  him  eat  of  the 
same  bread  and  drink  of  the  same  cup  with  the 
murderer  of  his  fatlier. 

In  June,  isol,  "  Lalcoraene,"  a  French  vessel, 
was  wrecked  not  far  from  where  the  Boyd  mas- 
sacre took  place  in  1800,  when  seventy  persons 
were  eaten  up  by  the  natives,  and  the  vessel 
plundered  and  destroyed.  But  now  (1851),  the 
gospel  has  had  its  effect  in  transforming  tlie 
cannilwls  to  Christianity.  Tlie  wrecked  French 
ship's  crew  received  every  possible  kindness. 
They  were  taken  to  the  Maoris'  hcjme  j)a,  fed,  and 
provided  with  blankets,  and  heljjed  in  every  kind 
and  liberal  manner. 

In  185!>,  thirty-five  tliousand  out  of  tlif  lifly- 
six  tliou.sand  ^Maoris  in  .\ew  Zealand  li.id  |»ro- 
fessed  CJhristianity.  Two  thousand  of  these  were 
half  f.-isto.     It  was  a  wonderful  work  of  grace. 


8G  Till':   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

The  influence  of  the  missionaries  ^vas  poweriully 
felt  throughout  the  land.  The  first  governor  of 
New  Zealand,  in  his  address  to  the  Legislative 
Council  in  1841,  said  that  a  British  colony  could 
not  have  been  established  at  any  time  in  New 
Zealand  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  work  of  the 
missionaries.  In  1800,  J.  B.  Fenton,  chief  judge 
of  the  Land  Court,  said :  "  The  time  will  come 
when  these  missionaries — the  only  efficient  State 
police  now  existing  in  the  country — will  be  taken 
away  by  death,  or  rendered  unable,  by  advanced 
years  and  much  labor,  to  render  that  assistance 
to  the  government  which  has  often  and  again 
been  its  reliance  in  the  time  of  trouble  ;  and 
we  quietly  await  that  time,  without  any  effort  to 
supply  the  vacancy.  When  we  see  the  great 
things  these  men  have  achieved,  and  the  influ- 
ence they  have  gained,  without  gifts  of  money  to 
covetousness,  or  offerings  of  power  to  ambition, 
we  must  admit  that  some  secret  existed  in  their 
system  which  would  be  a  valuable  knowledge  for 
the  government  when  they  are  no  more."  That 
secret  was  the  mystery  of  godliness,  and  the  judge 
was  right.  In  the  words  of  Dr.  Thompson : 
"  The  civilizing  influences  and  blessings  which 
Christianity  has  confei'red  on  New  Zealand  can- 
not be  weighed  on  the  scales  of  the  market.  Like 
musk  in  a  room,  it  has  communicated  a  portion 
of  its  fragrance  to  everything  in  the  country." 


THE  METHODIST   MISSION.  87 

The  Maoris,  after  their  conversion,  were  very- 
religious  ;  morning-  and  evening  devotion  were  no 
more  daily  omitted  than  breakfast  or  supper. 
Xo  more  quarrels  or  ill  treatment  of  each  other 
were  heard.  The  Sabbath  was  respected.  In 
almost  every  village  was  a  meetinghouse.  Ear- 
nest chiefs  carried  the  gospel  to  their  old  enemies. 
Peace  and  blessing  ruled  the  home.  In  1843  a 
prayer  meeting  was  held  in  a  cave  in  Iletorua, 
where  chiefs  used  to  lie  in  wait  for  travelers 
whom  they  killed  and  afterwards  ate. 

The  governor  of  the  colony,  Sir  G.  Grey,  writ- 
ing officially  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  1851, 
said  :  "  The  Maoris  are  fond  of  agriculture,  take 
great  pleasure  in  cattle  and  horses,  they  like  the 
sea,  and  form  good  sailors  ;  have  now  many  coast- 
ing vessels  of  their  own,  manned  by  ]\Iaori 
crews;  are  attached  to  Europeans,  and  ndiniie 
their  customs  and  manners;  are  extremely  ainl)i- 
tious  of  rising  in  civilization,  and  of  becoming 
skilled  in  European  arts  ;  thoy  are  a})t  at  learn- 
ing, in  many  resi)ccts  cxtivmcly  conscientious 
and  observant  of  their  woi-d,  and  ambitious  of 
iionoi'.'"  They  built  nioderii  houses  like  thi; 
Europeans.  They  raised  cattle,  bought  ))lows 
and  raised  wheat.  Tea  and  sugar  were  added 
to  their  larder.  They  exchanged  their  (h)gskin 
garments  for  European  clotlies,  but  still  used  their 
blankets.       The    Euro])eans    traveled    unarmed 


8S  THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MAORIS. 

through  the  colony,  and  the  natives  showed  them 
great  hospitality.  Knowing  their  fondness  for 
blankets,  the  missionaries  used  to  give  them 
some.  One  day  an  old  man,  who  had  several 
given  to  him,  came  again.  The  missionary  told 
him  he  had  no  more  for  him.  Then  he  said,  "All 
right,  no  more  blankets,  no  more  Iiallelujahs." 

AYhen  the  ship  Delaware  was  wrecked  upon  a 
rock  near  Nelson,  the  chief's  daughter  and  her 
brave  husband,  upon  seeing  the  fate  of  the  crew 
of  the  unfortunate  vessel,  instantly  stripped 
off  their  clothes,  and  swam  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives  to  a  rock  near  to  the  wrecked  ship,  carry- 
ing a  couple  of  ropes  in  their  teeth.  One  of 
them  they  made  fast  from  the  shore  to  the  roclc, 
and  the  other  they  threw  on  board  the  vessel  to 
which  it  was  secured.  The  crew  were  enabled 
thus  to  reach  the  shore.  All  of  them  were  saved, 
except  the  mate,  who  was  ill  in  bed  and  unable 
to  Avalk.  This  chivalrous  act  of  the  kind-hearted 
couple,  produced  a  great  impression  in  Nelson. 
For  their  gallant  work  in  saving  the  perishing 
sailors,  they  were  presented  with  a  suitable  ad- 
dress and  two  gold  w^atches,  by  the  townsmen. 
This  rescue  took  place  not  far  from  where  Tas- 
man's  sailors  were  killed  and  eaten  in  1642. 

The  missionaries  taught  the  IVIaoris  to  keep  the 
Sabbath  holy,  and  to  do  no  work  thereon.  They 
followed  their  instruction  even  to  the  letter.     In 


THE   METHODIST   MISSION.  89 

the  war  of  1SG3  between  the  colony  and  the 
Maoris,  they  would  not  fight  on  Sunday,  and 
were  more  than  surprised  to  find  that  the  Eng- 
lish fought  them  on  Sunday  as  well  as  on  week 
days.  On  the  dead  body  of  a  Maori  general  in 
battle  was  found  the  order  of  the  day.  It  began 
with  a  prayer,  and  ended  with  the  text :  "  If  thine 
enemy  hunger,  feed  him ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him 
drink."  When  the  Waikato  tribe  heard  that  the 
army  of  General  Cameron  was  scarce  of  food  and 
in  a  starving  condition,  they  got  several  canoes 
together  and  loaded  them  with  potatoes,  goats, 
and  milk,  and  sent  them  up  the  river  to  feed 
their  enemies. 

During  the  war  there  was  no  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  Maoris  for  the  flesh  of  the  slain. 
Young  Maori  soldiers  spoke  with  loathing  shamo 
of  having  been  forced  when  little  cliildren,  to 
swallow  some  of  the  cooked  flesh  of  tlieir  fatli- 
er's  enemies. 

One  day  some  sailors  from  a  trading  vessel 
went  ashore  and  found  themselves  presented 
with  food  j)repared  by  some*  ^faori  women.  The 
men  who  had  been  working  in  the  field  camo 
home.  There  was  loud  talking,  and  as  the  sailors 
could  nr)t  undorstand  them,  thoy  thought  tlioy 
had  just  d('cidi'(l  to  kill  and  cat  them,  butshorlly 
one  after  the  other  of  the  ]\Iaoris  wont  iisidc  .-ind 
opened  his  l);ig,  ;md   look  out  a  book-,  .lud  gave 


»U  THE   CONVEItSIOX   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

out  a  liviiin  and  all  of  them  saim  together,  and 
then  prayed.  The  sailors  knew  that  their  lives 
were  preserved. 

The  Maoris  were  fond  of  feasting.  In  April, 
1844,  a  great  feast  was  given  to  the  Waikato 
tribe  at  Eeumera,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Auck- 
land. There  were  about  four  thousand  guests 
present.  The  provision  prepared  and  exhibited 
consisted  of  eleven  thousand  baskets  of  potatoes, 
one  hundred  large  pigs,  nine  thousand  sharks,  a 
large  quantity  of  flour,  rice,  sugar,  and  tobacco, 
and  over  a  thousand  blankets  were  given  away 
as  gifts.  Speeches  were  made  until  late  every 
evening  during  the  festival  which  lasted  a  week. 
The  Europeans  in  Auckland  felt  very  timid,  but 
there  was  no  reason  for  fear,  for  the  natives  were 
peaceful  and  dispersed  quietly  and  went  to  their 
homes.  The  same  missionary  tells  of  another 
feast  at  which  he  was  present  in  1859  in  the 
valley  of  the  Ilutt,  eight  miles  from  Wellington. 
That  feast  was  given  by  Wi  Tako.  It  cost  £500. 
There  were  about  five  hundred  guests  present, 
including  Europeans  and  natives.  The  natives 
were  neatly  dressed.  Tables  with  white  cloths 
were  arranged.  There  were  knives  and  forks, 
waiters  dressed  in  white  aprons,  and  everything 
was  done  in  English  style  thus  marking  a  wonder- 
ful progress  in  civilization,  w^hich  was  exceedingly 
encouraging. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A   BIT   OF   HISTORY. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  missionaries  were 
worldng  in  IS'ew  Zealand,  there  was  an  effort 
being  made  to  colonize  it.  As  early  as  1825  a 
company  was  formed  in  London,  and  sailed  to 
Kew  Zealand  under  the  management  of  Captain 
Herd,  with  this  object  in  view;  but  after  seeing 
a  native  war  dance  at  Hokianga,  they  were  so 
frightened  that  only  four  of  the  sixty  emigrants 
stayed.     The  attempt  cost  the  company  £2o,(>(>0. 

But  the  "lawless  and  disobedient"  found  a 
refuge  in  the  land.  As  many  as  two  thousand 
sailors,  whalers,  runaway  convicts  from  New 
South  Wales,  and  others  "  of  the  Ishmaelite  char- 
acter," were  living  on  tlie  shores  of  tlie  luay  of 
Islands  including  a  settlement  of  live  hundred  at 
Kororareka,  and  that  within  a  few  years  alter 
the  founding  of  tlie  mission.  About  two  hun- 
dred of  them  found  their  way  into  the  interior, 
among  the  natives  and  lived  but  little  higher  in 
civilization  tlian  the  natives.  Their  conduct  was 
rej)roachaljle.  James  IJusby  was  ap|)ointe(l  mag- 
istrate by  the  crown  at  the  l»ay  of  Ishinds  to  keej) 

91 


92  THE   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

order,  but  his  influence  failed  to  check  the  stream 
of  vice. 

In  1833  a  scheme  was  proposed  to  establish  an 
independent  native  government,  and  the  names 
of  thirty-five  chiefs  were  affixed  to  the  charter. 
The  king  of  England  was  asked  to  become  their 
protector.  The  British  Government  saw  the 
necessity  of  forming  a  colony  in  New  Zealand, 
but  nothing  was  done  until  the  New  Zealand 
Land  Company  sent  out  Colonel  AVakefield. 

With  a  few  exceptions  all  the  land  in  New 
Zealand  belonged  to  the  Maoris.  When  they 
took  possession  of  it,  they  killed  and  ate  up  the 
former  native  owners.  The  land  therefore,  by 
all  its  ties  of  association  belonged  to  them  by 
right  and  conquest.  Every  tribe  had  a  legal 
claim  on  its  own  lot.  No  one  could  legally  or 
morally  sell  any  plot  of  it  to  foreigners  without 
the  consent  of  his  tribe.  Even  when  driven 
away  from  it  by  a  hostile  tribe  it  did  not  take 
away  the  legal  right,  nor  until  the  whole  tribe 
had  renounced  all  intentions  to  return  to  the 
home  of  its  ancestors,  was  the  title  invalid.  As 
Canaan  belonged  to  the  Jews  by  conquest  and 
inheritance,  so  New  Zealand  belonged  to  the 
Maoris.  The  failure  to  apprehend  this  was  the 
cause  of  much  bloodshed  and  war.  When  a 
European  bought  land  of  a  Maori,  the  deed  speci- 
fied the  sale  of  the  soil  only ;  everything  on  it, 


A   BIT   OF   HISTORY.  93 

such  as  trees,  waters,  flowers,  birds  and  fishes 
were  clauned  by  the  natives. 

In  1837,  a  second  company  was  founded  in 
England,  with  a  capital  of  £400,000,  in  four  thou- 
sand shares  of  £100  each,  and  a  deposit  of  £10  per 
share.  It  was  proposed  to  send  out  to  New  Zea- 
land, a  colony  of  cultured  men  and  women  repre- 
senting every  trade  and  profession.  A  bill  was 
presented  in  Parliament  for  a  charter,  but  owing 
to  the  opposition  of  the  missionaries  and  others  it 
failed  to  pass.  Colonel  W.  Wakefield  was  sent  out 
to  New  Zealand  privately  to  carry  out  the  proj- 
ect of  the  company.  He  sailed  from  England  in 
May,  1839,  in  the  ship  "  Troy  "  with  thirty-five 
passengers,  and  arrived  in  New  Zealand  in  Sep- 
tember. The  "  Troy  "  fired  a  salute  of  twenty- 
one  guns,  and  hoisted  the  New  Zealand  flag  on 
an  immense  flagstaff  at  Port  Nicholson.  After- 
wards there  was  a  Maori  dance.  Colonel  AV. 
Wakefield  bought,  shortly  after  his  arrival,  a 
quantity  of  land  of  the  Maoris,  and  paid  them 
£900  in  goods.  The  land  was  soon  sold  in 
England  for  £IOO,00(),  which  was  offered  on  the 
English  inrirket  for  a  pound  an  acre. 

A  few  months  later,  four  vessels  containing* 
some  twelve  hundred  j)eoj)le  sailed  from  England 
and  landed  on  the  shores  of  Port  Nicholson. 
Scotch  emigrants  from  the  Clydo,  had  also  ar- 
rived.    Colonel  W.  "Wakefield  had  fancied  that  ho 


94  TIIK   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MAORIS. 

had  purchased  from  chiefs  twenty  million  acres. 
lie  was  therefore,  parceling  out  land  to  the  new- 
comers at  Port  Nicholson,  llutt,  Nelson,  Tar- 
ranaki  and  Wanganui  without  having  a  title  to 
an  acre  of  it.  The  Maoris  denied  that  they  had 
sold  the  land.  The  colonial  office  took  the  mat- 
ter up,  ignored  the  Wakefield  purchase  beyond 
one  hundred  thousand  acres.  In  1840,  Captain 
Ilobson  took  the  North  island  in  the  name  of 
Queen  Victoria,  hauled  down  the  New  Zealand 
flag  which  had  in  1839  been  hoisted  at  Petone, 
and  hoisted  the  Union  Jack  at  Thorndan  in 
June.  Thus  Wellington,  named  after  the  famous 
duke,  was  settled  in  18-40.  Before  the  end  of  the 
year  there  were  fifteen  hundred  Europeans  and 
four  hundred  ]\[aoris  living  harmoniously  at  Wel- 
lington. The  former  were  chiefly  agricultural 
laborers,  and  their  first  object  was  to  provide 
homes  for  themselves  and  families.  The  Maoris 
were  kind  and  helpful,  and  interested  in  the  new 
ways  and  new  things  of  the  settlers,  so  that  in  a 
few  months  there  were  two  hundred  houses,  one 
thousand  head  of  cattle,  and  goods  worth  £80,000, 
in  the  new  town. 

Thus  from  a  few  lonely  tents  and  Maori  huts, 
Wellington,  the  metropolis  of  New  Zealand,  has 
grown  to  be  the  great  business  center  of  the  em- 
pire. The  city  proper  has  an  area  of  forty-five  hun- 
dred acres,  and  forty  thousand  inhabitants.     It  is 


A   BIT   OF   HISTORY.  95 

located  on  a  fine  harbor  of  nineteen  thousand  acres, 
inclosed  by  high,  irregularly  shaped  hills  and  pro- 
tected by  a  heavy  battery  of  guns.  The  harbor  is 
six  miles  long  by  six  miles  broad.  In  the  center 
of  this  harbor  lies  Soames  Island,  with  its  light- 
house and  quarantine  station.  Xear  the  center 
of  the  city  are  large  wharves  extending  along  the 
waters  edge.  Of  these  the  queen's  wharf  accom- 
modates the  largest  boats,  while  the  railway 
wharf  is  of  more  recent  construction.  At  all 
liours  of  the  day  and  into  the  night  the  wharves 
are  the  scene  of  great  activity.  Not  only  do 
ships  sailing  to  and  fro  from  the  different  ports 
in  Xew  Zealand,  touch  at  AA^'ellington,  if  it  be 
in  their  course,  but  those  from  foreign  countries 
constantly  arrive  here.  So  there  are  ships  going 
and  shi[)s  coming,  ships  being  loaded  and  dis- 
charged, porters,  cabmen  and  passengers,  as  well 
as  vans  full  of  goods.  Ever3'thing  is  here  which 
betokens  the  usual  activity  in  connection  with  a 
busy  ocean  port. 

Captain  llobson,  of  the  Tioyal  Navy,  was  sent 
out  from  England  as  a  British  agent  Avith 
power  to  act  for  the  crown.  After  he  had  been 
tiiere  a  year  Xew  Zealand  gave  up  her  inde- 
pendence, and  by  tiie  famous  treaty  of  AVaitangi, 
ceded  to  the  queen  of  England  all  rights  and 
powers  of  sovereignty.  The  meeting  was  h(^ld 
on  the  l)anks  of  the  boanlifiil  Wailaniri  river  on 


96  THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MAORIS. 

February  6, 1840.  Governor  Ilobson  sat  in  a  chair 
of  state,  on  a  platform  surrounded  by  the  officers 
of  the  ship  in  uniform,  and  a  guard  of  marines 
and  sailors,  the  leading  men  of  the  place  were 
there,  and  over  five  hundred  Maoris  and  fifty 
chiefs.  After  the  meeting  was  opened,  Rev. 
Henry  Williams  (missionary)  explained  to  the 
natives  in  their  own  tongue  the  terms  of  the 
treaty,  and  "Waka  ISTene,  a  chief  of  great  elo- 
quence and  power,  spoke  and  gained  the  votes  of 
the  other  chiefs.  Te  Ileuheu,  of  Lake  Taupo,. 
opposed ;  he  scoffed  at  the  missionaries  and  defied 
the  governor. 

The  terms  of  the  Treaty  were : 

1.  The  acknowledgment  of  the  queen  of  Eng- 
land as  their  sovereign. 

2.  The  queen's  acknowledgment  of  tlie  pri- 
vate possession  of  the  lands  of  New  Zealand  by 
the  tribes. 

3.  Her  protection  of  Maori  rights  and  privi- 
leges as  British  subjects. 

Twenty-six  chiefs  favored  the  acceptance  of 
the  treaty,  others  opposed ;  twenty- four  hours 
were  given  to  them  to  think  the  matter  over. 
Next  day,  forty-six  of  the  fifty  signed  the  treaty. 
The  document  was  taken  round  by  the  mission- 
aries and  a  few  officers  from  tribe  to  tribe,  and 
before  six  months,  five  hundred  and  tAvelve  chiefs- 
had  signed  the  treaty.    On  May  12, 1840,  Hobson. 


A   BIT   OF   HISTORY.  97 

proclaimed  that  the  islands  of  Kew  Zealand  were 
duly  added  to  the  British  empire,  and  that  he 
would  assume  the  rule  of  the  new  colony  as  gov- 
ernor. A  memorial  has  been  erected  on  the  spot 
where  the  treaty  was  signed.  This  treaty  of 
1840  is  the  basis  on  which  Great  Britain  founds 
her  claim  to  the  possession  of  New  Zealand.  But 
ihis  fair  land,  so  long  in  the  hands  of  a  savage 
race,  was  not  so  easily  acquired  by  the  white 
man.  It  had  to  pass  through  a  series  of  bloody 
contests  before  the  British  flag  could  wave  un- 
disturbed over  its  disputed  area. 

The  Xew  Zealand  Land  Company  was  a  spec- 
ulative concern  to  make  money.  Wherever  it 
assumed  to  sell  land  to  settlers  it  caused  trouble, 
not  only  with  the  natives  but  with  the  govern- 
ors. Two  years  after  the  peaceful  treaty  of 
Waitaniri,  a  friorhtful  massacre  broke  out  at 
Wairau  in  the  province  of  Nelson,  which  was 
followed  two  years  later  by  the  first  Maori  war 
which  began  in  the  valley  of  the  Ilutt  river,  and 
was  kept  up  for  several  years  in  the  North  island. 
The  Maoris  wanted  to  sell  land  for  money  and 
goods,  but  the  buyers  were  prc^hibited  from 
transacting  any  business  in  land,  and  the  g(n'ern- 
ment  was  not  in  a  position  to  buy  the  hmd  from 
the  natives.  It  was  rumored  that  the  govern- 
ment took  tliis  j)osition  in  onh'r  to  assume  full 
power  over  the  country  and  reduce  the  Maoris 


98  THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

to  the  condition  of  serfs.  The  British  flagstaff 
was  pointed  to  as  a  symbol  of  English  supremacy 
and  native  subjection. 

Hone  Ileke,  a  distinguished  chief  and  son-in- 
law  of  the  famous  Hongi,  was  aroused.  He 
had  been  attentling  the  mission  school,  professed 
Christianity,  and  often  on  receiving  the  Sacra- 
ment had  been  so  affected  as  to  weep.  He  had 
acquired  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  but  he 
hated  the  English  and  compared  them  to  the 
Egyptians  and  the  natives  to  the  Jews.  He 
now  gathered  round  him  a  host  of  warriors,  and 
went  to  the  English  flagstaff  and  cut  it  down,  on 
Monday,  July  8, 18^14.  The  government  put  it  up. 
Heke  cut  it  down  the  second  time.  The  govern- 
ment again  put  it  up.  Hone  Heke  cut  it  down 
the  third  time.  The  government  became  alarmed 
and  sent  to  Sydney  for  soldiers.  There  were  not 
more  then  ninety  soldiers  in  New  Zealand,  and 
Heke  threatened  to  plunder  and  burn  with  his 
men  every  town  and  hamlet  in  the  north.  Some 
friendly  chiefs  kept  Heke  in  check.  In  March, 
1845,  he  attacked  the  town  of  Kororareka  and 
destroyed  £50,000  worth  of  property  and  killed 
several  white  men.  His  fame  spread.  Auckland 
was  in  danger,  but  after  two  years  of  plunder 
and  destruction,  Heke  surrendered  to  Governor 
Grey. 

The  Waikato  tribe,  (the  most  powerful  tril^e  of 


A   BIT   OF   HISTORY.  99 

the  Maoris)  realizing  the  power  of  the  white  men, 
decided  to  sell  no  more  land,  for  they  said  the 
money  paid  for  it  was  gone,  but  the  land  stayed 
with  the  white  man  forever.  They  called  a  meet- 
ing on  the  banks  of  Lake  Taupo,  to  discuss  the 
question.  A  large  number  of  chiefs  were  pres- 
ent. They  agreed  to  form  a  Land  League  to  sell 
no  more  land  to  the  whites.  They  sent  the  fol- 
lowing letter  all  over  New  Zealand  : 

"  Listen,  all  men  !  The  house  of  New  Zealand 
is  one.  The  rafters  on  one  side,  are  the  Pakehas, 
those  on  the  other  are  the  Maoris ;  the  ridgepole 
on  which  both  rest  is  God.  Let,  therefore,  the 
house  be  one." 

Afterwards,  they  held  their  council  and  passed 
round  a  tomahawk  as  a  pledge  to  kill  wlioever 
sold  any  land  to  a  foreigner.  They  made  the 
sacred  mountain  Tongariro  the  center  of  this 
monopolized  land  district.  They  felt  their  weak- 
ness when  divided  into  tribes.  They  resolved 
to  have  a  leader.  Chief  Pototun  was  formally 
chosen  and  made  king  in  the  presence  of  two 
thousand  })eople.  On  that  occasion  Chief  Tanei- 
hanu  said  to  the  assembly  : 

"  Listen  to  our  words !  As  the  south,  east  and 
west  winfls  are  too  weak  to  carry  out  the  law  of 
God  :iii<l  in;in  amongst  us;  as  evil  is  still  existing 
nmong   us;    as    God    says,    *Conio    ye    that   arc 


100        THE   CONVERSION    OF   TIIK    MAORIS. 

lieavy  laden  and  1  will  lighten  your  burden ' ; 
we  have  united  this  day  to  give  power  into  the 
hands  of  one  man,  so  as  to  give  force  to  the  laws 
of  God  and  man  among  us.  The  birds  of  heaven 
are  uniting  and  wasting  their  thoughts.  The 
fishes  of  the  sea  are  doing  the  like,  the  rivers  and 
rivulets  are  running  into  one  body,  and  so  we  are 
uniting  to  give  hands  and  feet  to  this  one  man 
that  he  might  assist  the  oppressed,  and  wrench 
the  sword  out  of  the  hands  of  those  that  are  in 
darkness." 

The  object  of  the  king  was  not  disloyalty  to 
the  queen,  but  religion.  They  were  dissatisfied 
Avith  the  greedy  Avay  in  which  the  white  men 
Avere  appropriating  their  land  for  mere  nothing. 
They  felt,  that,  though  they  were  subjects  of  the 
queen,  they  were  ignored.  Their  motto  was^ 
"Keligion,  Love,  and  Law."  There  were  some 
tribes  who  were  determined  to  drive  the  English 
out  of  New  Zealand.  They  bought  muskets  and 
powder  and  prepared  for  war  on  the  whites. 

It  is  computed  that  there  were  jaot  more  than, 
a  few  thousand  Maoris  that  were  actually  en- 
gaged in  Avar  against  the  British.  Several  thou- 
sands sided  Avith  the  government,  and  rendered 
inA'aluable  service,  Avhile  several  other  tribes  re- 
mained neutral  and  moved  into  the  interior. 

It  is  related  that  Te  Heuheu,  the  chief  of 
Taupo,  Avas  entertained  in  Auckland  in  the  year 


A   BIT   OF   IIISTOKY.  101 

1857.  A  candle  was  placed  upon  the  table,  when 
the  following  dialogue  took  place : 

"  What  is  the  use  of  this  candle  ?  " 

"  To  give  light." 

"  What  is  it  which  causes  the  light  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  fat." 

"  Will  the  fat  give  light  by  itself  ?  " 

"  No,  it  requires  a  wick  in  the  middle  of  it." 

"  Yes,  this  shows  you  Avliat  you  require.  If 
you  gather  together  round  a  king,  you  wall  be- 
come a  great  people,  and  your  light  will  extend 
far  and  wide."  This  suggestion  was  at  once 
acted  upon.  "  Let  us  have  a  king,  to  be  at  the 
head  of  our  Eanauga,  and  let  his  authority  be 
established  through  the  country."  This  it  is  said, 
was  the  origin  of  the  king  movement.  Soon  the 
watchword  of  the  party  was,  "  Stop  the  effusion 
of  blood  and  keep  possession  of  the  land." 

The  ]Maori  king  and  his  cabinet  shut  up  the 
country,  formed  an  army,  allowed  no  roads  to  be 
made,  and  defied  the  British  law.  Not  an  acre 
of  land  i-ouml  New  Plymoutli  could  bo  l)Ought. 
Wlien  (iovcrnor  l»rown  attempted  to  survey  some 
Innd  he  had  bought  from  a  Maori  at  Taranaki, 
it  iirous<'(l  the  Taranalci  Ara<^)ris  to  arms,  and  they 
drove  the  Knglisli  soldiers  (hnvn  to  the  coast,  aftrr 
which  they  plundered  the  town  and  kiUed  many 
white  people.  War  l)roke  out  which  lasted  two 
years.     A  couj)h^  of  years  after,  William  'I'homj)- 


THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MAOKIS, 

son,  the  great  king-inaker,  stepped  on  the  stage  of 
action,  and  transformed  a  cannibal  settlement  of 
warriors  into  the  peaceful  Maori  village  of  Perea 
with  its  houses,  churches,  schoolhouses,  fertile 
plantations  and  mills,  llis  object  was  to  com- 
bine the  Maoris  so  that  battles  between  tribes 
would  be  stopped,  the  progress  of  the  white  man 
obstructed,  and  any  further  sale  or  lease  of  lands 
to  the  government  or  white  settlers  forbidden. 

The  Maoris  fought  bi'avely  in  battle.  During 
the  Waikato  war.  General  Scott  sent  a  message 
to  the  Maori  warriors,  sa3'ing,  "Your  case  is 
hopeless ;  surrender  and  your  lives  will  be  spared." 
Back  came  the  answer  from  the  pa,  "  This  is 
the  word  of  the  Maoris,  We  will  light  forever, 
forever,  forever."  Then  came  the  second  mes- 
sage, "But  send  your  women  away."  "The 
women  will  fight  too,"  was  the  reply. 

So  the  war  went  on,  and  all  the  time  the  date 
was  fixed  when  the  IMaoris  must  return  to  the 
conditions  of  the  treaty.  Finally  in  1801,  Sir 
George  Grey,  the  missionaries,  Bishop  Selwyn, 
and  the  soldiers,  did  all  they  could  to  induce  the 
Maoris  to  give  up  their  lands.  But  all  mag- 
nanimity, all  persuasion,  all  preaching  were  of 
no  avail ;  but  when  the  glittering  of  muskets  of 
twenty  thousand  men  headed  by  General  Cam- 
eron marched  through  the  AVaikato  valley,  there 
was  not  a  single  dusky  face  to  be  seen.     Their 


■H 


A   BIT    OF    HISTORY.  103 

land  was  confiscated  and  their  houses,  where 
they  liad  lived  and  worked  and  loved,  were  taken 
from  them,  and  made  into  a  military  settlement. 

For  ten  years  they  isolated  themselves  from 
the  Europeans.  War  died  out,  and  there  was 
peace  once  more  in  the  land.  In  1878,  Sir 
George  Grey  offered  to  give  back  some  of  the 
stolen  land,  but  the  old  wound  was  not  healed, 
and  the  Maori  refused.  A  second  offer  was 
made  but  politely  declined. 

Then  the  government  stepped  in  and  offered  to 
place  the  land  under  a  Board  which  would  take 
care  of  the  property  for  the  owners,  and  passed 
a  law  by  which  the  natives,  who  had  committed 
crime  and  taken  refuge  among  the  Kingites, 
could  be  pai'<loned.  King  Tawhiao  was  stubborn, 
lie  was  willing  to  take  back  the  land,  but  lie 
would  not  take  a  salary  from  tlie  government, 
nor  be  made  justice  of  the  peace ;  so  nothing  was 
accomplished,  and  he  continued  to  wave  his 
scepter  over  one  of  the  finest  land  districts  of 
New  Zealand,  which  lies  between  Taurango  and 
Wanganui.  His  s))eech  at  the  gathering  of  tlio 
trii)es  in  1883,  was  very  toucliing.  He  arose,  and 
resuming  his  original  position  in  the  midst  of 
the  asseml>ly,  arranged  his  l)lanket  in  toga 
fashion  across  liis  l)reast,  and  raising  his  bare 
right  ;inii,  bcL;;in  his  speech  in  slow  liiil  well  de- 
livered tones,  and  spokcj  stniight  from  his  lungs: 


104.       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

"  ^I}^  word  is,  do  not  speak  at  all ;  only  listen. 
The  best  way  of  speaking  is  to  listen.  If  this 
European  (the  native  minister)  rises,  the  best 
thing  to  do  is  to  listen.  This  is  my  word, 
hearken  you.  I  approve  of  your  administrating 
affairs  on  that  side,  the  European  side.  But  my 
word  is,  I  will  jump  on  that  side  and  stand,  and 
hear,  that  I  may  know.  I  will  remain  in  the 
position  of  my  ancestors  and  my  parents  in  this 
island  of  Xew  Zealand.  Say  what  you  have  to 
say.  That  is  my  thought,  that  I  will  remain  here 
in  the  place  where  my  ancestors  and  fathers 
trod."  His  whole  idea  was  his  deep  love  for  old 
associations  and  his  determination  to  live  always 
where  his  ancestors  and  parents  had  lived  in  this 
land  of  "  bright  sunlight." 

Hanging  over  New  Zealand  to-day  is  this  law : 
"  That  the  Maoris  and  Pakehas  shall  be  as  one 
people ;  obey  the  laws  of  the  queen  and  respect 
them  everywhere  as  loyal  subjects,  and  that 
every  native  acting  contrary  to  the  queen's  laws 
shall  undergo  the  same  punishment  as  the 
Pakeha ;  that  all  natives  avoid  intoxication  and 
other  abuses ;  that  no  objection  be  offered  to  the 
native  land  court,  selling  or  otherwise  so  long  as 
it  is  done  legally." 

In  1864,  the  Hau-Hau  Apostasy  arose  which  was 
a  great  impediment  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 
It  began  in  Taranaki.     A  Maori  fanatic  believed 


^ 


A   BIT   OF   HISTORY.  105 

that  he  had  a  revelation  from  the  angel  Gabriel, 
and  that  all  the  white  men  were  to  be  driven  out 
of  Xew  Zealand  at  the  end  of  the  year,  but  that 
the  Maoris  would  be  protected  by  the  omnipres- 
ence of  the  Virgin  Mary.  All  good  people  who 
shouted  "•  llau-Uau  "  in  battle  would  be  victorious, 
and  angels  Avould  protect  their  lives.  A  spirit 
of  infatuation  laid  hold  of  tribes  that  were 
hostile  to  the  government.  They  began  to  rob, 
burn  and  kill,  and  became  a  terror  to  settlers  and 
peaceful  natives.  Christian  Maoris  and  Euro- 
peans armed  themselves  against  them,  and  fought 
for  their  lives.  In  the  second  J\Iaori  war  seventy 
of  the  apostates  were  killed,  which  checked  the 
movement.  But  the  influence  of  this  strange 
belief  led  them  to  hang  the  Rev.  Valkncr,  an  old 
Lutheran  missionary,  who  had  formed  the  church 
mission,  and  also  to  shoot  another  worthy  friend, 
of  the  ]\lethodist  faith,  the  Rev.  J.  Whitly.  They 
hated  the  missionaries.  Many  bloody  battles 
took  place  between  the  advocates  of  this  strange 
new  religion  and  the  colonial  army  before  they 
surrendered. 

During  the  war,  many  of  thciii  were  taken 
prisoners,  some  of  them  lied  ;in<l  ()i)l;iin<'(l  ai-iiis 
and  f(K>d,  and  resumed  the  strife.  About  two 
hundred  of  the  most  ferocious  kind  were  ban- 
ished to  (';it,haiii  Islands.  Among  tliem  was  a 
most  dcs[)erate  character  named  Te  K'ooti,  who 


loo        THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MA0RI8, 

claimed  to  be  inspired.  He  wiis  the  Hob  Hoy  of 
the  gang.  Jle  planned  to  escape  from  the  island, 
and  succeeded.  He  somehow  enticed  a  captain 
of  a  sliip  at  anclior  in  the  harbor  to  come  ashore, 
and  kept  him  there,  while  he  and  his  party  got 
possession  of  the  ship,  compelled  the  mate  and 
crew  to  sail  the  ship  to  Kew  Zealand  and  land 
them  at  Poverty  Bay.  AVhen  they  arrived  there, 
they  attacked  the  Europeans  and  loyal  natives, 
killed  some  sixty  of  them,  and  destroyed  their 
property.  The  whole  district  was  alarmed.  Te 
Kooti's  success  brought  many  other  wild  and 
unruly  characters  to  his  standard.  He  planted  a 
pa  at  ISTgatapa,  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  two 
hundred  feet  high,  which  was  supposed  to  be  the 
strongest  pa  in  Kew  Zealand.  He  had  four 
hundred  followers.  The  colonial  army  chased 
them  from  place  to  place,  until  at  last,  Te  Kooti's 
party  broke  up  and  left  him,  and  he  sought  pro- 
tection of  the  Maori  king,  under  which  he  lived 
until  he  died,  two  years  ago,  (1896),  at  Rotorua, 
an  old  man. 

A  missionary  of  forty  years'  standing  in  New 
Zealand,  gave  as  the  causes  of  the  Maori  war : 
incompetency  on  the  part  of  the  crown  officials  ; 
the  Land  League,  which  arose  from  jealousy  re- 
specting territory ;  and  kingism,  which  arose 
from  lack  of  ability  upon  the  part  of  the  British 
to  govern  ;  all  culminating  in  Hau-IIauism.    Here 


A   BIT   OF   IIISTOKY.  107 

another  evidence  is  added  of  the  demoralizing 
effect  of  war  upon  the  people ;  even  the  mission- 
aries suffered  morally  and  spiritually.  Flourisli- 
ing  mission  stations  and  promising  schools  were 
abandoned,  and  the  love  of  many  grew  cold. 
Husbands  and  wives  bade  a  hasty  adieu.  Par- 
ents deserted  their  children.  Lovers  and  betrothed 
were  rudely  sundered.  The  home  and  the  fire- 
side appeared  as  if  draped  in  deepest  mourning ; 
a  sense  of  loneliness,  painful  to  spectators, 
crowned  the  vision.  A  Maori  chief,  who  had 
been  a  leader  in  hostilities,  upon  being  converted, 
establishes  our  convictions.  AVhen  called  on  to 
lead  his  tribe  in  battle  against  the  British  he 
said  :  "  I  have  lost  the  power  of  my  right  arm. 
I  am  f(;r  peace,  they  are  for  war." 


CHAPTEK  X. 

THE   MAORI   OF   TO-DAY. 

In  1892,  Tawhiao,  the  so-called  native  king,  re- 
nounced his  native  sovereignty  to  the  colonial 
government,  and  became  an  humble  subject  with 
a  pension  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  annu- 
ally. This  event  has  brought  the  Europeans  and 
the  Maoris  into  closer  relation  under  one  sover- 
eign and  one  common  law  and  aim.  The  Maoris 
own  about  ten  million  acres  of  land,  which  are 
preserved  for  them  by  a  general,  regular  law 
court.  Some  tribes  in  the  North  island  are  averse 
to  such  red-tape  constitution,  and  want  the 
management  of  their  land  affairs  in  their  own 
hands,  independently  of  the  government.  But 
the  genial  and  large-hearted  native  minister, 
the  Hon.  R.  J.  Sedden,  the  Premier  of  New 
Zealand,  has  a  wonderful  influence  over  those 
discontented  tribes.  An  expedition  by  him 
through  their  country,  and  a  speech  or  two,  and 
some  hand-shaking,  act  like  oil  on  the  troubled 
sea. 

Three  years  ago,  two  surveyors  were  sent  by 
the  government  to  the  country  of  the  Unwera  to 

108 


MAflKI    (■IKI.ft. 


THE   MAORI   OF   TO-DAY,  109 

make  some  survey.  The  Maoris  did  not  like  it ; 
they  thought  that  the  government  was  about  to 
divide  up  their  land  and  give  it  away ;  so  they 
stopped  the  surveyors,  and  some  of  the  women 
took  from  them  their  instruments.  The  govern- 
ment was  no  tilled,  and  a  band  of  forty  soldiers 
and  policemen  was  sent  to  the  scene  to  adjust 
matters.  But  Ilone  Heke,  the  member  of  Parlia- 
ment for  their  district,  wired  to  his  people  to 
return  to  the  surveyors  their  instruments,  and 
not  to  obstruct  them.  On  the  arrival  of  the 
soldiers,  they  found  everything  quiet.  The 
natives  offered  them  fruit,  and  also  offered  to 
assist  the  surveyors  at  a  reasonable  price.  A 
few  words  from  their  cliief  calmed  them  down 
to  ))eace  and  order. 

The  Maoris  are  law-abiding  citizens.  There 
was  far  less  crime  committed  by  tlie  IVfaoris 
last  year  in  proportion  to  their  number  than  by 
the  Europeans.  The  total  number  of  Maoris 
convicted  for  crimes  in  1890  was  three  hundred 
and  thirty-two.  There  are  not  many  of  them 
found  living  in  towns  or  cities,  nor  are  many  of 
them  found  living  even  in  vilhiges  together  as 
they  used  to  do  Ix^fore  they  embraced  ( ■iiristiiin- 
ity.  They  are  scattered  h(!r(!  and  thcn^  in  gn)U|)s 
of  few  iiousf's  in  the  interior  of  the  country. 
Sonu!  of  th(!ni  liave  line  houses  and  farms. 

i'araiiaka  is  j)eriiaj)s  the  largest  Maoi-i  village 


110        THE   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

in  the  North  island.  It  is  the  seat  of  the  prophet 
Ti  White,  a  man  about  seventy  years  of  age. 
lie  has  a  most  wonderful  influence  upon  many  of 
the  benighted  natives  of  the  interior,  lie  has 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  by  his 
strong  memory  can  recite  many  passages  and 
turn  them  to  suit  his  own  views.  lie  conducts  a 
public  meeting  once  a  month  in  his  native  vil- 
lage ;  many  come  to  it  from  far  and  near.  They 
gjve  him  money  and  he  in  turn  entertains  them 
by  making  a  public  feast.  He  lives  in  an  old  di- 
lapidated house.  Though  he  built  a  new  one 
some  years  ago,  he  does  not  always  occupy  it. 
There  are  about  a  dozen  strong,  able  men  with 
him,  as  a  bodyguard,  who  do  nothing  but  live 
on  the  charity  of  others.  They  need  the  gospel 
in  that  part  of  Maori  land  as  much  as  in  the 
Fiji  islands.  How  is  it  that  the  present  gen- 
eration of  Maoris,  living  in  the  remote  partst^  of 
the  North  island,  are  still  clinging  to  their  heath- 
enish customs,  and  appear  to  be  retrograding 
both  in  civilization  and  belief  in  Christianity 
from  the  promising  days  of  the  early  mission- 
aries ?  Is  the  Church,  or  the  State,  responsible 
for  this,  or  both  ?  The  State  advertises  thou- 
sands and  millions  of  acres  of  Maori  land  for 
sale,  and  offers  every  inducement  to  settlers,  and 
the  Church,  the  Christian  Church,  boasts  of  her 
foreign  mission  conversions,  and   enterprises  in 


THE   MAORI   OF   TO-DAY.  Ill 

India,  China  and  the  South  Sea  Islands,  while 
the  Maoris,  at  her  door,  are  in  pagan  darkness, 
and  dying  without  the  bread  of  life  I 

Accordiuo:  to  the  census  of  1896  the  native  race 
was  found  to  consist  of  thirty-nine  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-four  persons,  (twenty-one  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  seventy-three  males  and 
eighteen  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  fe- 
males) including  three  thousand  live  hundred  and 
three  half-castes,  living  as  Maoris,  and  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-nine  Maori  women  returned  as 
married  to  European  husbands.  The  IVlaori  popu- 
lation fell  from  forty-one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-three  in  1891  to  thirty-nine  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-four  in  1890,  a  decrease 
in  five  years  of  two  thousand  one  hundred  and 
thirty-nine.  Thirty-seven  thousand  one  hundred 
and  two  of  them  are  living  in  the  North  island  as 
it  is  warmer  than  the  South,  Only  two  thousand 
two  hundred  and  seven  are  living  in  the  Middle 
(or  South)  island,  and  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
in  Stewart  Island,  and  about  twenty  in  the 
Catham  IsUinds.  It  is  reported  that  in  the  coun- 
try over  which  the  Maori  king  Mahutu,  has  in- 
fluence, sub-cnumc^rators  cx|)ericnced  great  dif- 
ficulties, being  told  that  the  Inng  had  already 
taken  a  census,  ;iii(l  ri<»  other  was  needed.  The 
Afaoris  seemed  to  (-(mnect  the  ('(jnsus  with  taxa- 
tion, and  opposed  it  on  that  gnjund,  so  that  the 


112        Tin:   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAOllIS. 

returns  from  tlio  king  country  are  doubtful.  The 
native  population  in  the  Middle  island  are  re- 
l)orted  to  be  in  satisfactory  health  and  prosper- 
ous condition,  and  those  living  in  the  northern 
counties  of  the  North  island,  were  reported  also 
to  be  in  fairly  good  health,  but  that  a  habit  of 
camping  in  low  swampy  places  during  the  guin- 
digging  season  was  injurious.  "Digging  for 
kauri  gum  is  their  principal  occupation  through- 
out the  country  north  of  Auckland." 

The  Hon.  W.  P.  Reeves,  in  his  recent  book 
"  New  Zealand,"  (on  page  twenty-seven)  in  ex- 
plaining the  reason  why  the  Maoris  were  dying 
out,  says :  "  The  Maoris  might  be  healthy  men 
and  women  if  they  would  accept  the  teaching 
of  sanitary  science  as  sincerely  as  they  took  in 
the  religious  teaching  of  the  early  missionaries. 
If  they  could  be  made  to  realize  that  foul  air,  in- 
sufficient dress,  putrid  food,  alternations  of  feast 
and  famine,  and  long  bouts  of  sedulous  idleness 
are  destroying  them  as  a  people  and  need  not  do 
so,  then  their  decay  might  be  arrested  and  the 
fair  hopes  of  the  missionary  pioneers  yet  be  justi- 
fied. So  long  as  they  soak  maize  in  the  streams 
until  it  is  rotten  and  eat  it  together  with  dry 
sliark  food,  the  merest  whiff  of  which  will 
make  a  white  man  sick ;  so  long  as  they  will 
wear  a  suit  of  clothes  one  day  and  a  tattered 
blanket  the  next,  and  sit  smoking  crowded  in 


THE   MAORI   OF   TO-DAY.  113 

huts,  the  scent  of  Avhich  strikes  you  like  a  blow  in 
the  face ;  so  long  as  they  will  cluster  round  dead 
bodies  during  their  tango  or  wakes ;  so  long  as 
they  will  ignore  drainage — just  so  long  will  they 
remain  a  blighted  and  dwindling  race :  and  yet 
observers  without  eyes  will  talk  as  though  there 
were  something  fateful  and  mysterious  in  their 
decline." 

The  Maoris  who  live  nearer  the  towns  and  cities 
are  as  a  rule  temperate  in  their  habits.  They 
are  much  opposed  to  intoxicating  drink,  though 
some,  like  the  whites,  drink  to  excess. 

Sometime  ago,  a  ]\[aori  member  of  Parliament 
rose  to  oppose  a  motion  for  hours  of  adjournment 
of  business,  saying,  "  Honorable  members  get 
drunk,  then  return  to  wrangle  or  go  to  sleep. 
Conclude  business,  then  drink  afterwards."  His 
remarks  shamed  the  house. 

The  ^Maoris  are  very  fond  of  horses  and  dogs. 
A  Maori  will  not  travel  half  a  mile  if  he  can  help 
it  without  riding  his  horse.  It  is  not  an  uncom- 
mon thing  in  the  Xorth  island,  to  see  half  a 
dozen  Maori  riders  galloping  at  full  speed  into 
town  from  the  country  two  or  three  times  a  day, 
and  always  followed  by  as  many  dogs. 

They  own  over  three  hundred  thousand  sheep 
and  thirty  thousand  cattle  and  many  horses. 
Here,  on  the  banks  of  the  Wanganui  river,  par- 
ticularly, tluiy  congregate  in  their  j)as,  where  they 


114        THE   CONVERSION   OF   TJIE   MAORIS. 

live,  undisturbed,  among  their  sheep,  cattle,  etc. 
The  men  and  women  sit  and  smoke  their  pipes, 
while  the  children  play  about  the  doors  of  their 
painted  wooden  houses.  When  they  go  out  on  the 
streets,  the  mothers  carry  their  babies  strap})ed 
to  their  backs  with  shawls,  the  ends  of  which  are 
crossed  in  front  and  tied  behind.  Only  the  baby's 
little  head  peeps  out. 

The  Maoris  still  hold  their  councils,  at  which 
both  men  and  women  speak  and  indulge  occasion- 
ally in  the  old  savage  war  dance.  Tourists  travel- 
ing in  New  Zealand  generally  include  in  their  pro- 
gramme a  visit  to  the  Wanganui  and  a  paddle 
down  the  beautiful  river  in  a  Maori  canoe. 
These  canoes  are  from  eighteen  to  twenty  inches 
in  breadth  and  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  long. 
Each  one  is  made  out  of  the  solid  trunk  of  a  totara 
tree.  The  paddle  is  about  four  and  a  half  feet 
long  and  has  a  single  blade. 

The  Maoris  respect  the  Europeans.  An  old 
Maori  said  of  birds :  "  Ah,  they  are  little  spirits. 
They  come  to  see  what  men  are  doing  in  the 
bush  by  day,  and  go  back  to  tell  God  at  night. 
To-night,  they  will  say,  '  We  saw  the  Maori  and 
the  Pakeha  (white  man)  together  in  the  forest. 
They  ate  of  the  same  and  drank  of  the  same,  and 
slept  together  in  one  blanket,  and  were  brothers,' 
and  God  will  say  it  is  good." 

The  Maoris  have  keen  love  of  justice.     Once  a 


A    i.llMI   !•    Ill      MAMUI 


THE   MAORI   OF   TO-DAY.  115 

Maori  stole  a  bag  of  sugar  from  a  store,  and  re- 
ceived a  month's  imprisonment  for  his  crime.  A 
chief  made  him  pay  the  value  of  the  sugar  to  the 
storekeeper,  pay  utu  to  some  person,  and  pay  utu 
to  the  chiefs  of  respective  tribes  to  compensate 
them  for  loss  of  credit  the  community  had  sus- 
tained through  his  offense. 

Although  one  meets  here  and  there  with  the 
grotesquely-carved  Koah's  Ark  Maori  church 
while  traveling  over  the  islands,  the  majority  of 
the  natives  attend  the  various  denominational 
churches — the  Church  of  England,  Methodist 
Church,  and  the  Koman  Catholic.  They  are  good 
listeners.  They  sing  lustily  and  join  in  responses 
fervidly,  laugh  and  weep  vociferously.  They 
grind  their  teeth,  stamp  their  feet,  wave  their  arms 
and  rage  when  the  treachery  of  Judas  is  related. 
Tliey  look  upon  money  collection  in  church  as  im- 
portant, but  they  do  not  give  more  than  a  penny. 
The  warden  has  to  make  change  while  passing 
the  ))late.  If  one  has  no  penny  he  makes  believe 
to  ))ut  in  something  with  a  horrible  grimace  at 
the  colloctor. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  a  sermon  by 
Hone  Ileke  a  native  preacher:  "A  l*harisee  is 
like  a  bag  ticcl  half  way  down.  The  l);ig  isoj)en  at 
the  top,  but  anything  put  into  it  W(jn't  reach  the 
bottom.  So  it  is  with  the  Pharisee.  When  he 
prays,  he  opens  wiih;   his  mouth,  i)ut  keeps  his 


116        THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE    MAORIS. 

heart  close  shut,  lie  asks  with  his  lips  for  things 
M'hich  his  heart  cares  not  for.  Besides,  he 
always  talks  for  effect,  for  even  if  God  were  to 
grant  him  the  things  he  asked  for,  it  would  be 
only  a  waste  of  good  gifts,  for  they  could  never 
get  to  the  bottom ;  his  pride,  like  the  string 
that  is  tied  round  the  bag,  preventing  them. 
They  would  therefore  do  him  no  good,  as  they 
would  reach  no  farther  than  his  throat."  The 
Maoris  have  their  ow^n  church  Boards  and  native 
pastors.  The  larger  portion  of  them  attend  the 
Church  of  England.  The  Presbyterian  Church 
does  but  very  little  mission  work  among  them. 
Mormon  missionaries  are  also  found  among  them 
sowing  their  heathenish  seed  of  polygamy.  They 
do  much  evil.  But  all  the  Mormons  of  New  Zea- 
land including  Maoris  and  whites  in  1890,  num- 
bered two  hundred  and  eighty-nine,  again  of  but 
eighty-three  persons  since  18*J1.  The  govern- 
ment provides  the  Maoris  with  excellent  schools. 
There  are  no  less  than  eighty -three  schools  found 
among  the  natives,  and  four  thousand  children 
attend  them. 

The  Maori  is  as  much  a  citizen  of  New  Zealand  as 
the  European.  His  children  sometimes  attend 
the  same  schools,  and  his  sons  and  his  daughters 
often  marry  Europeans.  There  are  many  well- 
educated,  accom})lished  and  successful  Maoris 
now  living  in  comfortable  houses,  who  are  pos- 


THE    MAOKI    OF   TO-DAY.  117 

sessors  of  wealth  and  intliience.  We  heard  of  one 
native  wife  of  a  white  man  who  enjoyed  nothing 
better  than  once  in  a  while  sitting  down  on  her 
<lra wing-room  floor  and  having  a  good  smoke 
with  her  pipe. 

The  Maori  population  is  represented  every  year 
in  Parliament  by  four  members.  One  of  them 
now  is  a  grandson  of  the  famous  cannibal  chief, 
Uone  Heke.  He  is  a  very  intelligent,  fine-look- 
ing man,  conservative  in  politics,  and  bitterly 
opposed  to  the  present  land  system. 

In  the  summer  of  1897  a  number  of  Maoris 
went  with  the  New  Zealand  contingent  of  sol- 
diers to  London  to  attend  the  Queen's  Jubilee. 
Tai  te  Tan,  of  Masterton,  had  the  honor  of  giving 
tlie  Prince  of  Wales  a  beautiful  Maori-carved 
walking  stick,  and  to  the  Duke  of  York  a  green- 
stone war  club  and  a  handsome  rug. 

Notwithstanding  all  tlie  Christian  and  civiliz- 
ing influence  which  has  been  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  ^Maoris,  many  of  them  still  cling  to 
their  old  beliefs  and  customs.  They  will  not  steal 
on  Sunchiy,  go  pig  hunting,  or  land  a  boat.  They 
will  never  swear  in  a  boat,  for  fear  of  accident; 
and  if  tht!  wind  dies  out  when  tliey  are  on  the 
wat(!r,  tin'V  will  try  to  l)iing  it  back  by  cliants. 
Thcv  are  afrMid  of  ghosts  and  ta])U. 

When  ;i  (liicf's  (hiughter  marries,  the  Maoris 
go  to   the  \v((hling   in    wagons  or  on   liorsebaclc 


118        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

with  provisions  for  a  feast  of  several  days. 
After  marriage,  if  the  husband  allows  anything 
to  happen  to  his  wife,  all  her  relatives  come  and 
take  everything  from  him.  I  once  attended  a 
Maori  wedding,  and  was  hospitably  entertained 
with  the  guests  at  a  sumptuous  table.  No  in- 
toxicating liquor  was  seen,  except  a  bottle  of  wine 
which  was  placed  on  the  table,  after  the  marriage 
ceremony  was  performed,  and  each  one  was  ex- 
pected to  help  himself,  Avithout  any  urging,  I 
was  conducting  special  gospel  meetings  in  the 
neighborhood,  during  the  week,  and  on  Sunday 
I  was  pleased  to  notice  some  of  the  Maoris,  pres- 
ent at  the  wedding,  in  the  congregation.  At 
funerals  they  also  carry  food,  and  sticks  of  wood 
with  slits  cut  in  them  in  which  bank  notes  are 
put.  This  money  is  divided  among  the  mourners 
and  spent  afterwards.  They  salute  each  other  by 
rubbing  noses,  but  never  by  kissing.  At  one 
time,  a  Maori  had  his  arm  injured.  A  surgeon 
amputated  it.  A  short  time  after  all  the  rela- 
tives came,  and  asked  him  to  pay  them  for  cut- 
ting it  off.  With  this  singular  idea  other  young 
men  came  and  wanted  theirs  cut  off. 

Taken  as  a  race,  the  Maoris  are  very  good 
people  to  deal  with  if  treated  in  the  right  Avay. 
There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  polite,  bet- 
ter bred  and  the  inferior  class.  One  of  the  former 
would  feel  hurt  if  you  offered  to  reward  him  for 


THE   MAORI   OF  TO-DAY.  119 

his  hospitality.  In  conversation  he  is  very  po- 
lite, never  interrupting  nor  contradicting  his 
company.  Sometimes  the  English  which  the  un- 
educated use  is  very  laughable.  One  day  a 
Maori  was  milking  a  cow,  and  a  stranger,  passing 
by,  on  seeing  the  empty  bucket,  remarked  that 
she  did  not  have  much  milk.  The  native  said : 
"  O,  he's  got  plenty  milk  inside,  but  she  wont  let 
them  down." 

On  a  certain  day  of  the  year,  large  numbers  of 
Maoris  may  be  seen  fishing  off  the  North  Cape 
for  whapuka,  a  fish  which  weighs  fifty  pounds. 
They  will  not  allow  a  wliite  man  to  go  with 
them,  for  fear  he  will  fry  the  fish  and  no  more 
can  be  caught.  They  think  the  fish  likes  to  be 
baked  in  Maori  style.  On  another  da}^  they  go 
shark  fishing,  when  they  catch  and  dry  thou- 
sands of  them.  When  the  godwit  season  begins, 
they  go  out  with  their  guns,  and  lying  low  on 
the  mud  banks  where  these  birds  collect,  kill 
many  of  them.  They  make  a  very  appetizing  dish 
when  they  are  properly  cooked. 

Christianity  has  elevated  and  enlightened  the 
Maoris.  There  is  no  more  striking  illustration 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ  as  the  power  of  C4od  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  l;clievcth  than  the 
conversion  of  the  Maoris — a  whole  nation  of  can- 
nibals in  a  fjiiartor  of  a  century  iiindo  nominally 
Christians  through  the  preaching  of  the  g<xspel. 


120        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

Let  us  place  side  by  side  the  naked,  savage, 
Maori  caunibal  with  his  massive  club,  and  the 
fine-looking  old  native  chief  of  to-day,  in  his  new 
suit  of  clothes  and  his  blanket  in  toga  fashion. 
Then  let  us  compare  the  horrible  threat  to  kill 
screamed  out  in  frantic  yells,  with  the  well 
worded  English  speech  delivered  in  soft,  modu- 
lated tones,  and  we  shall  see  what  Christianity 
has  done  for  the  natives  of  New  Zealand. 


CHAPTER  XL 

EELIGIO]^   IX   NEW   ZEALAND. 

It  was  my  privilege  during  our  travels  in  the 
colony  to  preach  in  the  cities  of  Auckland,  AVel- 
lington,  Christ  Church  and  Dunedin,  and  also  to 
conduct  special  evangelistic  meetings  in  many  of 
the  larger  and  smaller  towns  of  both  the  North 
and  South  islands  ;  and  1  was  alwa^^s  very  favor- 
ably impressed  with  the  hopeful  and  encourag- 
min:  state  of  relio-ion  in  New  Zealand.  Pastors 
of  various  creeds  appear  to  be  earnest  and  de- 
vout men.  Meetings  were  well  attended.  I  re- 
member conducting  special  meetings  in  a  small 
town  in  Otago,  forty  miles  in  the  interior,  and  on 
several  nights  during  the  week,  there  Avere  })res- 
ent  men  and  women  who  luid  come  on  horse- 
back, eight,  ten  and  twelve  miles,  which  was  an 
evidence  of  deep  interest  in  s])iritual  things.  I 
found  the  attendance  at  public;  worship  in  Otago 
to  bo  larger  than  in  any  other  \mvt  of  the  colony. 
The  bracing  climate  and  the  natural  character- 
istics of  the  people  li;i(l  doubtless  much  to  do 
with  this.  p]ai-n('st  Christian  workers  de])lorcd 
the   mcth<jds  used  in  raising  money  for  church 

121 


122        THE   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

purposes — by  raffles  and  lotteries,  as  a  great  hin- 
drance to  the  spiritual  growth  of  the  Church. 
The  Church  in  New  Zealand  has  to  contend  with 
evils  that  are  common  in  all  lands,  but  particu- 
larly with  worldliness,  gambling,  social  impurity 
and  intemperance.  It  is  a  question  whether  the 
Church  is  holding  its  own  against  these  assailing 
forces.  The  liquor  question  and  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Bible  into  the  public  schools  have  been. 
agitating  the  mind  of  both  the  Clmrch  and  State 
for  sometime.  The  consumption  of  strong  drink 
is  said  to  be  falling  off  since  the  war  began 
against  it.  The  Lord's  Day  is  fairly  observed 
as  a  day  of  rest,  though  greatly  desecrated  by 
pleasure  seekers.  The  government  in  stopping 
the  running  of  trains,  and  closing  public  works 
on  Sunday,  honors  the  Fourth  Commandment. 
Denominational  differences  are  strongly  marked 
throughout  the  colony,  but  especially  by  tlie 
Church  of  England.  The  Episcopal  minister  still 
believes  in  the  apostolical  succession ;  but  he  is 
not  a  ritualist. 

There  are  some  thirty  religious  denominations 
represented  in  New  Zealand,  all,  of  course,  in- 
dependent of  the  State  for  support,  as  the  gov- 
ernment gives  no  financial  aid  to  any  form  of 
religion.  But  the  Church  of  England  and  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Otago,  are  both  richly 
endowed  with  lands  given  to  them  as  grants  in 


RELIGION   IN   NEW   ZEALAND.  123 

the  early  days  of  the  colony ;  still,  the  other 
churches  seem  to  thrive  as  well,  and  give  liberal 
support  to  their  various  ministers.  The  Church  of 
England  has  the  largest  number  of  adherents  in 
the  colony.  According  to  the  census  of  1896, 
they  numbered  two  hundred  and  eighty-two 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  nine,  being  forty 
per  cent,  of  the  population ;  but  the  vast  majority 
of  them  though  claiming  adherence,  do  not  at- 
tend divine  public  worship  with  that  body.  Only 
forty-eight  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
are  reported  to  attend  services;  whereas  the 
Presbyterians,  wlio  come  next  in  number,  repre- 
senting only  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  fifty-two  persons,  or  about 
twenty-three  per  cent.,  have  forty-eight  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  fifty-one  reported  attend- 
ing public  worshij),  an<l  their  church  accommo- 
dations are  nearly  as  large  as  that  of  the  Church 
of  England,  whose  seating  capacity  including 
all  meetinghouses  is  only  seventy-six  thousand 
eiiiht  hundred  and  eleven.  This  shows  that  the 
census  is  a  very  defective  standard.  The  Church 
of  England  has  extended  its  stakes  for  mission 
purposes,  by  having  divided  tiie  colony  into  six 
dioceses,  viz:  Auckland,  Waiapu  and  "Wellington 
in  the  North  island,  and  Nelson,  Christ  Church 
and  Dunedin  in  the  South  island  ;  each  of  these 
iields  has  an  ellieient  staff  of  earnest  workers. 


121        THE    CONVERSION    OF   TIIi:    MAORIS. 

This  Chui'cli  leads  in  luissionuiT  work  among-  the 
Maoris ;  probably  more  natives  claim  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  Church  of  England  than  with 
all  the  other  Protestant  churches  })ut  together. 

The  Presbyterian  C.hurch  both  north  and  south 
is  a  tower  of  strength,  and  a  great  light  in  tiie 
South  Sea  Islands.  It  has  able  and  earnest  preach- 
ers of  the  gospel.  The  Synod  of  Otago  has  six 
presbyteries,  seventy-eight  congregations  and 
churches,  and  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
Zealand  has  eight  presbyteries  and  one  hundred 
and  four  congregations  and  churches.  Both 
Churches  are  expected  to  unite  before  another 
year  is  over  under  the  name  of  "  The  Presby- 
terian Church  of  New  Zealand."  AVhile  both 
branches  of  this  Church  have  manifested  zeal 
and  wisdom  in  evangelistic  work  throughout 
the  colony  and  lively  interest  in  missionary 
enterprise  in  the  New  Hebrides  and  Tauna,  yet, 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  they  have  practically 
neglected  their  duty  to  the  Maoris.  The  follow- 
ing report  of  the  convener  of  the  Maori  Mission 
to  the  General  Assembly  explains  the  fact. 

MAORI    MISSION    REPORT. 

Your  committee  have  to  report  that  no  change 
has  taken  place  in  the  mission  staff  during  the 
year.  ]\[r.  Fletcher  has  been  restored  to  health, 
and  has  labored  diligently  during  the  year.     He 


EELIGION   IN   NEW   ZEALAND.  125 

is  still  at  the  north  of  Lake  Taupo,  and  conducts 
service  in  six  or  seven  pas;  some  of  which  he 
reaches  by  boat.  For  some  Aveeks  they  had  se- 
vere earthquakes,  and  some  of  the  natives  left 
the  district,  but  our  missionary  and  his  young 
wife  remained  at  their  post.  He  is  virtually  the 
only  missionary  in  that  district.  A  Maori  curate 
of  the  Church  of  England  comes  occasionally  and 
conducts  a  service.  Except  that,  Mr.  Fletcher  is 
the  only  missionary  there.  He  conducts  a  serv- 
ice for  Europeans  in  the  schoolhouse  on  Sabbath 
evenings  as  opportunity  offers,  as  there  is  no 
minister  of  any  denomination  in  that  district. 
He  has  been  asked  l)y  some  followers  of  Te 
Kooti,  who  are  generally  very  exclusive,  to  open 
a  school  for  their  children,  and  the  committee 
have  authorized  him  to  do  so,  when  the  condi- 
tions are  complied  with,  hoping  that  in  that  way 
he  may  reach  the  ])arents. 

Mr,  Milson  still  labors  most  faithfully  in  Para- 
wanui,  but  on  account  of  failing  strength,  pro- 
poses soon  to  retire  from  the  work. 

AVe  have  not  Ijeen  able  yet  to  secure  the  serv- 
ices of  a  medical  missionary. 

The  Church  has  not  sujjported  this  mission  as 
it  should.  It  has  fallen  into  debt,  and  with  such 
a  small  staff  of  workers  this  should  not  be. 
Other  churches  are  doing  very  much  more  for 
tlie  natives  than  we  are  doing.  Surely  our  peo- 
])h;  will  not  neglect  the;  heathen  round  our  own 
doors.  It  is  our  duty  to  give  them  the  Word 
of  Life.  W(;  have  a' great  responsibility  in  this 
matter.  Would  that  our  people  realized  and 
felt  it. 


126        THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MAOEIS. 

I  have  tried  during  the  year  to  collect  some 
statistics  of  the  natives  in  the  different  places, 
but  lind  it  difficult  on  account  of  their  unsettled 
habits. 

It  is  also  difficult  to  find  what  districts  are  sup- 
plied  by  other  churches,  as  some  churches  state 
that  they  supply  certain  places,  which  sometimes 
means  the  visit  of  a  curate  or  missionary  once  a 
month  or  once  a  quarter.  We  again  appeal  to 
the  brethren  to  give  this  mission  a  more  liberal 
support.  D.  Gordon,  Convener. 

The  Roman  Catholics  claim  ninety-eight  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  four  members,  or  about 
fourteen  out  of  every  one  hundred  of  population. 
Of  the  larger  Protestant  denominations  the 
Wesleyan  Methodist  increased  since  1891,  from 
fifty-six  thousand  and  thirty-five  to  sixty-three 
thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-three  persons, 
being  at  the  rate  of  13.10  per  cent.  Presbyterians 
from  one  hundred  and  forty-one  thousand  four 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty-nine  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-two  or 
13.06  per  cent.  The  Salvation  Army  gained  one 
thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  persons  be- 
tween 1891  and  1896.  The  numbers  of  the 
Brethren  show  42.35  per  cent,  and  Seventh  Day 
Adventists  86.99  per  cent,  increase.  But  the 
Congregationalists  only  1.38  per  cent,  and  Luth- 
erans decrease  seventy-eight  adherents.  The 
Unitarians   increased   from   three   hundred  and 


RELIGION   IN   NEW   ZEALAND.  127 

eififht  to  three  hundred  and  seventv-five,  and  the 
Society  of  Friends  from  three  hundred  and  fif- 
teen to  three  hundred  and  twenty-one.  Hebrews 
increased  eighty-six.  Spiritualists  increased  from 
three  hundred  and  thirty-nine  to  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six.  Free  Thinkers  decreased 
from  four  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  to  three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighty- 
three.  Agnostics  numbered  in  1891,  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two,  increased  in  the  five 
years  two  hundred  and  forty  making  five  hun- 
dred and  sixty-two  in  1896.  The  Mormons  re- 
ported in  1896,  two  hundred  and  eighty-nine,  a 
gain  of  eighty-three  persons  in  five  years,  mostly 
among  the  Maoris. 

The  total  number  of  buildings  returned  as  used 
for  divine  public  worship  in  1896  for  the  whole 
colony  was  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-seven,  of  which  one  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty-one  were  churches  and  three 
Imndred  and  sixty -six  schoolhouses,  and  one 
liundred  and  ninety  dwelling  houses,  seating  ac- 
commodations for  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  thousand  five  hundred  and  nine,  and  the 
numbers  attending  services  two  hundred  and 
nine  thousand  seven  Imndred  and  thirty-one. 
The  number  of  male  members  is  found  to  be 
greater  than  that  of  fenudes  in  the  Church  of 
England  .-ind  Presbyterian  Church. 


128        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

The  total  number  of  scholars  at  the  Sunday- 
schools  in  1896  was  one  hundred  and  four  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  and  thirty-four,  of  whom  fifty 
thousand  and  ninety -six  were  boys  and  fifty-four 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight  girls. 
The  teachers  numbered  eleven  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  of  both  sexes,  three  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  being  males  and  seven 
thousand  one  hundred  and  forty -four"\  females. 
We  met  many  teachers  in  Sabbath-schools  in  the 
colony  who  appear  to  be  faithful  and  devoted 
Christians.  The  system  of  teaching  the  children 
is  hardly  up  to  date.  Scarcely  an  adult  scholar 
is  found  in  any  of  the  Sunday-schools,  in  New 
Zealand.  Christian  women  lack  enthusiasm  in 
missions. 

AVe  addressed  several  meetings  of  the  Christian 
Endeavor  Society,  and  the  same  devotion  and 
earnestness  known  among  young  Christian  work- 
ers in  all  lands  are  not  lacking  with  the  Christian 
Endeavor  Society  of  New  Zealand,  We  were 
present  at  a  grand  rally  at  Christ  Church  in  con- 
nection Avith  the  meeting  of  the  Presbyterian 
General  Assembly,  which  was  addressed  by  the 
old  veteran  missionary,  Rev.  John  Paton,  of  the 
New  Hebrides.  He  spoke  with  all  the  fire  of  his 
ardent  soul,  which  certainly  inspired  and  kindled 
the  missionary  spirit  in  the  breast  of  many 
youths. 


RELIGION   IN   NEW   ZEALAND.  129 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting  it  was  voted  to 
secure  a  missionary  to  labor  among  some  three 
thousand  Chinese  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Mid- 
dle island,  and  also  to  support  two  or  three  mis- 
sionaries in  the  New  Hebrides. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EDUCATION  IN   NEW  ZEALAND. 

The  system  of  education  in  New  Zealand  is 
controlled  by  the  government,  and  con^lucted  to 
suit  the  peculiarities  of  the  country  and  people. 
It  is  of  a  free,  compulsory  and  secular  order. 

Free,  because  the  State  pays  for  everything 
connected  with  the  primary  schools,  except  the 
books  used  by  the  scholars.  In  district  high 
schools  and  colleges,  fees  are  charged  for  the 
teaching  of  higher  branches. 

It  is  compulsory,  because  the  attendance  of  all 
children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  thirteen 
is  compulsory,  except  when  special  exemptions 
are  granted. 

The  education  is  secular,  because  religion  is 
not  a  prescribed  study.  The  instruction  imparted 
in  all  the  schools  is  wholly  secular.  There  is, 
however,  a  strong  movement  now  agitating  the 
minds  of  the  Christian  people,  to  have  the  Bible 
used  in  the  primary  schools  as  a  text-book,  and, 
it  is  hoped,  that  their  request  will  be  granted  at 
the  next  general  election. 

Education  in  New  Zealand  is  conducted  under 
peculiar  difficulties,  because  of  the  shape  of  its 

130 


EDUCATION   IN   NEW   ZEALAND.  131 

territory.  The  total  length  of  the  islands  is 
twelve  hundred  miles,  while  the  width  varies 
from  five  miles  to  two  hundred  and  seventy-five. 
It  is  cut  up  into  three  large  islands  and  small  ad- 
jacent ones,  comprising  in  all  an  area  of  one  hun- 
dred and  four  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  square  miles,  that  is  about  one-seventh  less  than 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  The  South  island  it- 
self is  larger  than  England  and  Wales.  Settle- 
ments are  found  in  almost  every  important  por- 
tion of  these  islands,  and  many  of  them  are  far 
apart  and  difficult  to  reach,  and  very  thinly  in- 
habited. The  whole  population  of  Xew  Zealand 
is  less  than  seven  hundred  and  sixty  thousand, 
scattered  throughout  the  whole  country ;  but 
wherever  there  are  twenty-five  children  found 
near  each  other,  there  is  a  government  school 
erected.  So  in  proportion  to  its  population,  there 
is  no  country  in  the  world  that  has  more  gov- 
ernment schools  than  in  Xew  Zealand,  nor  more 
money  appropriated.  There  are  about  two  thou- 
sand schools  of  all  classes  at  which  children  of 
European  and  ]\[aori  races  are  being  educated, 
and  the  cost  is  borne  by  the  State.  Tarliament 
votes  annually  a  fixed  sum  of  money  for  educa- 
tion. In  the  year  1897  the  api)ro])riation  was 
over  two  million  and  a  half  dollars.  Every  adult 
in  Xew  Zciland  is  oldiged  to  contrii)uto  to  the 
education  finid,  ;icc(,c(liii;;-  t(j  the  system  of  direct 


132       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE    MAORIS. 

taxation.  The  teachers  are  well  paid,  the  high- 
est salary  paid  in  the  primary  schools  to  head 
teachers  being  $2,000,  and  the  lowest  $400  a  year. 

There  are  three  grades  in  the  government 
schools,  the  primary,  secondary  and  university, 
under  the  management  of  Boards  and  Commit- 
tees. The  Minister  of  Education  has  the  gen- 
eral supervision  over  the  common  schools.  There 
are  thirteen  school  Boards,  one  over  every  pro- 
vincial district  of  the  colony,  who  devote  their 
whole  time  to  the  school  work.  Each  one  of 
these  Boards  is  elected  by  the  local  School  Com- 
mittee, and  each  School  Committee,  consisting  of 
nine  members,  is  elected  by  the  parents  of  the 
children  and  neighbors.  The  district  Board  of 
Education  receives  and  disburses  the  money  voted 
by  Parliament  for  instruction  in  primary  schools. 
The  Board,  also,  after  consultation  with  the  local 
School  Committee,  appoints  the  teachers  and  in- 
spectors. 

The  subjects  of  instruction  at  the  primary 
schools  required  by  the  Education  Act,  are  "  read- 
ing, writing,  arithmetic,  English  grammar  and 
composition,  geography,  history,  elementary 
science  and  drawing,  object  lessons,  vocal  music, 
(and  in  the  case  of  girls)  sewing  and  needlework^ 
and  the  principles  of  domestic  economy,  and 
military  drill  of  all  boys  in  these  schools." 

The  secondary  schools,  which  correspond  with 


EDUCATION   IN   NEW   ZEALAND.  133 

our  liiofh  schools,  are  under  the  control  of  man- 
agers,  appointed  by  the  Minister  of  Education 
and  others.  The  government  has  nothing  to  do 
with  them,  but  to  inspect  them.  They  are  the 
smallest  and  least  satisfactory  of  all  the  schools 
in  the  colony. 

There  are  also  special  schools  for  children  of 
the  Maoris,  under  the  management  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  their  own  local  committee.  The 
native  children  are  taught,  in  addition  to  the  com- 
mon branches,  medical  and  sanitary  science. 
There  are  industrial  schools  for  destitute  and 
criminal  children,  and  two  schools  for  the  mute 
and  the  blind. 

The  number  of  children  receiving  education  in 
Xew  Zealand  (in  1897)  was  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  thousand,  about  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
population.  The  primary  schools  report  one 
hundred  and  thirty-four  thousand,  Maori  schools 
four  thousand,  and  secondary  schools  two  thou- 
sand six  hundred.  Children  educated  in  private 
schools  (not  supported  by  the  State)  number  fif- 
teen thousand,  of  whom  ten  thousand  are  Roman 
Catholic.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  al- 
lowed to  support  its  own  schools  on  condition 
tliat  thoy  are  inspected  ])y  the  government.  Only 
four  per  cent,  of  the  people  of  New  Zealand, 
(excluding  Chinese)  over  five  years  of  age,  are  il- 
literate. 


131       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

The  educational  institutions  of  Christ  Church 
are  of  a  higli  order,  among  which  are  the  Normal 
School,  Canterbury  College,  Christ's  College, 
Girls'  and  Boys'  High  School.  The  School  of 
Art,  and  several  kindergartens,  are  said  to  be  the 
best  in  New  Zealand,  and  it  is  claimed  that  pu- 
pils attending  these  schools  can  acquire  as  thor- 
ough an  education  as  in  England. 

In  connection  with  Canterbury  College  are 
the  Museum,  (which  is  considered  the  finest  in 
the  Southern  Hemisphere),  and  the  endowed 
School  of  Engineering  and  Technical  Science. 
The  students  work  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science  in  engineering.  The  Canterbury  Agri- 
cultural College  has  beautiful  buildings  and  an 
endowment  of  sixty  thousand  acres  of  land. 
Though  Dunedin  and  Auckland  have  splendid  in- 
stitutions of  learning,  yet,  they  do  not  have  such 
advantages  as  Christ  Church.  The  Victoria  Col- 
lege was  founded  by  Parliament  in  December, 
1897,  at  Wellington,  in  commemoration  of  the 
sixtieth  year  of  the  reign  of  Her  Majesty,  Queen 
Victoria,  for  the  promotion  of  higher  education, 
and  to  be  in  connection  with  the  New  Zealand 
University.  The  establishment  of  the  Victoria 
College  in  the  Metropolis  of  the  colony  will  as- 
sure greater  facilities  for  University  students. 

The  University  of  New  Zealand  is  controlled 
entirely  by  the  Senate.     It  does  not  support  of 


EDUCATION   IN   NEW   ZEALAND.  135 

itself  a  staff  of  professors  or  lecturers.  Under- 
graduates receive  instruction  in  the  Universities 
of  Auckland,  Otago  and  Canterbur}^  College,  but 
question  papers  for  candidates  for  degrees  are 
prepared  in  London  by  a  Board  of  Examiners, 
and  are  sent  out  under  seal  to  New  Zealand. 
The  answers  written  there  are  sent  back  to  Eng- 
land to  be  examined,  and  the  degree  is  conferred 
to  merit,  and  the  degrees  conferred  according  to 
this  high  standard  are  recognized  by  the  Univer- 
sities of  Great  Britain  except  one  in  London. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SAMOA. 

Samoa  is  a  group  of  ten  inhabited  islands  in 
the  Southern  Pacific  about  four  hundred  miles 
northeast  of  the  Fiji  islands,  and  in  the  direct 
route  of  the  San  Francisco  and  New  Zealand 
Mail  Line  of  steamers.  It  is  four  thousand  three 
hundred  miles  from  the  Golden  Gate  and  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  miles  from  Auckland. 
It  stands  between  the  latitudes  of  13°  30'  and 
14°  30'  south  and  longitudes  of  169°  24'  and 
172°  50'  west,  eight  hundred  miles  south  of  the 
equator.  The  islands  are  mountainous  and  of 
volcanic  formation,  varying  in  area  from  seven 
to  seven  hundred  square  miles,  the  total  being 
three  thousand  square  miles.  The  climate  is  con- 
sidered to  be  one  of  the  finest  and  healthiest  in 
the  Southern  Pacific.  The  mean  temperature  is 
from  70°  to  80°.  Rain  falls  frequently.  Earth- 
quakes and  hurricanes  are  common  in  February 
and  March. 

The  late  Robert  L.  Stevenson's  graphic  descrip- 
tion of  the  hurricane  and  wrecks  of  warships 

136 


SAMOA.  137 

and  merchant  crafts  of  March  16, 1889,  is  exceed- 
ingly interesting.  "  What  seemed  the  very  arti- 
cle of  war  and  within  the  duration  of  a  day  the 
sword  arm  of  each  of  the  two  angry  Powers  was 
broken — their  formidable  ships  reduced  to  junks, 
their  disciplined  hundreds  to  a  horde  of  cast- 
aways, fed  with  difficulty,  and  the  fear  of  whose 
misconduct  marred  the  ship  of  their  commanders. 
Both  paused  aghast.  Both  had  time  to  recognize 
that  not  the  whole  Samoan  archipelago  was  worth 
the  loss  in  men  and  costly  ships  already  sup- 
plied. The  so-called  hurricane  of  March  16, 
1889,  made  thus  a  marking  epoch  in  the  world's 
history." 

The  name  Samoa  means  clan,  or  family  of  the 
Moa.  Each  group  has  its  own  dialect.  The 
names  of  the  islands  are  Savaii,  Apolima,  Man- 
ono,  Upolu,  Tutuilu,  Aunu'u,  Nu'utcle,  Ta'u,  Ofu 
and  Olosenga.  The  three  last  islands  are  called 
Mauu'u,  after  a  noted  chief,  reducing  the  number 
to  seven.  Three  of  the  group  are  of  considerable 
size  and  importance.  Savaii,  the  most  western, 
is  the  largest,  being  forty  miles  long  and  twenty 
miles  wid(i,  and  has  a  population  of  twelve;  thou- 
sand. Tutuilu  is  thirty  miles  long,  but  nai-i-ow 
and  mountainous,  and  is  reckoned  to  have  a  p()j)U- 
lation  of  about  three  thousand.  It  comes  next 
in  size  to  Upolu,  which  is  foi-ty  miles  long  and 
thirteen  miles  wide,  with  a  population  of  twenty- 


13S        THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MAORIS. 

five  thousand.  It  stands  in  the  middle,  some 
fifty  miles  from  Tutuilu  and  fifteen  miles  from 
Savaii.  It  is  by  far  the  principal  of  the  entire 
islands,  being  the  collecting  port  of  all  the  group, 
having  the  residences  of  the  Samoan  king  and 
foreign  consuls.  Each  of  these  islands  has  been 
divided  into  districts,  settlements  and  villages, 
governed  by  chiefs,  princes  and  extensive  land 
owners.  Jealousy  and  quarrels  between  these 
chiefs  and  subjects  caused  frequent  wars  and 
much  bloodshed.  When  the  Rev.  John  "Wil- 
liams arrived  at  Savaii  in  the  missionary  ship 
"Messenger  of  Peace,"  August,  1830,  his  at- 
tention was  arrested  by  observing  the  moun- 
tains on  the  opposite  side  of  the  channel  in  flames, 
and  when  he  inquired  as  to  the  cause  of  it,  he 
was  told  that  a  great  battle  had  been  fought  that 
morning,  and  that  the  flames  which  he  saw  were 
consuming  the  houses,  plantations  and  bodies  of 
men,  women  and  children  who  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  conquerors.  He  wrote  :  "  "While 
we  were  landing,  the  messengers  of  peace,  on  the 
one  shore,  the  flames  of  a  devastating  war  were 
blazing  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  under  these 
circumstances  was  the  mission  commenced."  Be- 
sides these  internal  wars  between  local  chiefs, 
there  has  been  also  a  rivalry  for  the  crown,  par- 
ticularly between  the  three  families  which  com- 
prise the  aristocracy  of  Samoa,  and  too  often 


SAMOA.  139 

forced  to  \rar  of  late  years  by  selfish  Europeans. 
Germany  has  long  cherished  a  desire  to  acquire 
control  of  Samoa  as  a  colonial  possession  of  the 
empire,  which  resulted  in  attaching  the  sovereign 
rights  of  the  monarch  to  the  municipality  of 
Apia.  It  was  this  intrigue  which  incensed  the 
Samoans,  and  ultimately  led  to  the  so-called 
Berlin  Conference  in  1889  between  Germany, 
Britain  and  America.  The  treaty  guaranteed 
neutrality  to  the  islands,  and  the  right  of  citizen- 
ship to  the  natives  in  equal  respect  to  trade,  resi- 
dence and  protection.  The  three  Powers  have 
the  right  to  appoint  a  chief  justice  to  administer 
law,  order  and  civil  suits.  Samoa  since  the  Ber- 
lin treaty  is  independent,  but  subject  to  joint 
British,  German  and  American  control.  It  is  a 
violation  of  this  treaty  which  has  caused  the 
present  trouble  at  A])ia.  When  I  visited  Apia 
over  a  year  ag*),  Dr.  Ualfel,  one  of  the  most  in- 
telligent gentlemen  in  Samoa,  told  me  that  they 
were  on  the  eve  of  war  tlicre  any  day,  as  two 
rival  kings  had  been  banisluMl  to  separate  islands, 
and  shoidd  cither  of  them  make  his  escape,  he 
would  instantly  pounce  upon  the  Crown  king 
like  a  tiger.  Offended  rulers  and  chiefs  ai-e  al- 
ways in  danger  of  attack  when  the  guards  are 
watching  and  their  chiefs  are  asleep. 

The  lierlin  Treaty  says,  "  In  case  any  (lucstion 
shall    hereafter   arise    in    Samoa    resj)ecting   the 


140        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

rightful  election  or  appointment  of  a  king  or  any 
other  chief,  claiming  autliority  over  the  islands, 
or  respecting  the  validity  of  the  powers  which 
the  king  or  any  chief  may  claim  in  the  existence 
of  his  office,  such  questions  shall  not  lead  to  war, 
but  shall  be  presented  for  decision  to  the  chief 
justice  of  Samoa,  who  shall  decide  it  in  writing, 
conformably  to  the  provision  of  this  act  and  of 
the  laws  and  customs  of  Samoa,  not  in  conflict 
therewith,  and  the  signatory  government  will 
accept  and  abide  by  such  decision.  In  case  any 
difference  shall  arise  between  either  of  the  pow- 
ers and  Samoa  which  they  fail  to  adjust  by 
mutual  accord,  such  difference  shall  not  be 
held  cause  for  war,  but  shall  be  referred  on  the 
principle  of  justice  and  equity  to  the  chief 
justice  of  Samoa,  who  shall  make  his  decision 
thereon  in  writing."  The  treaty  also  prohibits 
the  importation  of  arms  and  ammunition  into 
Samoa,  or  sale  to  natives  or  other  Pacific  island- 
ers, of  arms  or  intoxicating  drinks. 

Samoa  has  been  governed  by  the  royal  houses 
of  Malietoa  and  Tubua.  In  1881,  Malietoa 
Laupepa,  became  sole  monarch,  and  King  Tama- 
sese  vice  king.  Counter  rivalry  followed.  In 
1887,  Germany  interfered  in  deposing  Malietoa" 
Laupepa,  and  banishing  him  to  a  remote  island 
and  proclaiming  Taniasese  king.  Mataafa,  a 
relative  of  the  ex-king,  put  himself  at  the  head 


SAMOA.  141 

of  the  king's  party  in  opposition  to  Taraasese. 
The  Germans  did  not  like  tlie  rival  King  Ma- 
taafa.  He  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  the  cry 
was  raised  that  he  would  turn  Samoa  over  to  the 
Jesuits.  At  the  attempt  to  disarm  himself  and 
his  soldiers,  Mataafa  rallied  his  men  and  a  battle 
took  place.  Fifty  Germans  were  killed.  It  is 
charged  that  the  natives  were  supplied  with  arms 
and  food  by  American  citizens.  This  caused  bit- 
ter strife  between  the  Germans  and  the  Ameri- 
cans. Martial  law  was  proclaimed  in  Apia,  by 
German  officials,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  en- 
force it  upon  Americans.  English  vessels  in  the 
harbor  were  searched,  news])apers  were  sup- 
pressed and  villages  bombarded.  The  powers 
were  informed  of  the  revolution.  Seven  war 
ships  were  hurried  to  the  scene  (three  Germans, 
three  Americans  and  one  British).  While  Germany 
and  the  states  were  on  the  brink  of  war  in  the 
bay  of  Apia,  the  army  of  Mataafa  w^as  immi- 
nent behmd  the  town,  and  the  German  quarter 
was  garrisoned  with  sailors  from  the  squadron, 
both  prej)aring  for  an  attack.  Suddenly,  the 
wind  l)lew,  the  sea  rose,  the  sky  darkened,  a  ter- 
rible storm  swept  over  the  town  and  bay.  Every 
war  ship  and  vessel  in  the  harbor  before  the 
storm  was  over  (except  the  Jiritish  war  ship  Calli- 
ope, (Japtain  Kane,  which  successfully  steamed 
out    to    sea)    was   either    totally   destroyed    or 


142       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

wrecked  on  the  shore.  During  the  perilous 
scene  the  Samoans  exhibited  the  utmost  human- 
ity and  heroism  in  their  efforts  to  save  the  per- 
ishing men.  From  all  the  shipping  about  nine 
hundred  men  were  saved,  but  ninety  Germans 
and  fifty  Americans  were  lost.  Thus  providen- 
tially, God  put  an  end  to  the  war  which  was  on 
the  eve  of  being  fought  between  two  hostile  pow- 
ers in  the  bay  of  Apia.  Germany  withdrew  the 
proclamation  of  martial  law.  The  three  powers 
agreed  to  recognize  the  deposed  king,  Malietoa 
Laupepa,  as  sovereign  of  Samoa,  and  the  natives 
who  had  elected  Mataafa  were  influenced  to  sur- 
render to  the  wish  of  the  powers. 

In  1893,  when  the  ex-king,  Mataafa,  returned 
from  exile,  Malietoa  Laupepa  was  friendly  to  him, 
and  he  made  overtures  to  him  to  act  as  vice  king, 
which  he  accepted.  The  two  kings  ruled  well 
and  peacefully,  until  German  officials  interfered. 
Mataafa  was  obliged  to  retire  to  Malie  and  was 
there  joined  by  ardent  followers  who  hailed  him 
as  their  chief — which  threatened  a  revolution. 
Mataafa  was  summoned  to  Apia,  and  found 
guilty  of  treason  and  conspiracy,  and  banished  to 
a  remote  island. 

In  August,  1898,  King  Malietoa  Laupepa  died, 
leaving  a  daughter,  a  son,  and  an  adopted  son,  and 
his  brother,  high  chief  Moli,  as  claimants  for  the 
vacant  throne. 


SAMOA.  143 

The  banished  kin^  Mataafa  was  permitted  to 
return  home ;  on  his  arrival  at  Apia  in  Septem- 
ber, 1898,  he  was  welcomed  by  the  powers  and  na- 
tives. Meanwhile,  the  otRcials  of  the  powers  held 
several  meetings  in  regard  to  the  vacant  throne. 
The  friends  of  ex-king  Mataafa  communicated 
their  intention  of  electing  him  as  king  of  Samoa. 
According  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  Samoa,  the 
king  is  elected  by  two  local  representative  bodies ; 
the  one  consisting  of  four  high  chiefs,  and  the 
other  body  of  eight  exalted  leaders.  A  confer- 
ence was  held  with  the  friends  of  Tanu,  the  son 
of  the  late  king  Malietoa.  They  opposed  the 
election  of  the  ex-king.  Both  Whites  and 
Browns  realized  the  gravity  of  the  situation, 
and  more  particularly  when  the  Germans  favored 
the  ex-king,  whom  they  formerly  wronged. 
Two  ironclads,  representing  Britain  and  Ger- 
many, anchored  in  the  bay  of  Apia.  The  Ta- 
man  peo})le  carried  the  vote,  and  declared  Ma- 
taafa as  king.  The  Tamasese  people  iiled  a  pro- 
test with  the  chief  justice,  on  the  ground  of 
fraud.  Thus,  the  contest  ])ctween  the  two  rival 
factions  for  the  kingship  of  Samoa  began  in 
court,  before  William  L.  Chambers,  chief  justice 
of  Samoa,  under  the  Berlin  Treaty. 

The  decision  was  delivered  in  court  on  De- 
cember 31.  The  chief  justice  reviewed  the  case 
in  a  letter  to  ))is  ))r()1h('r,  Jan.  23,  1891),  which 


1-i-i       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

appeared  in  the  New  York  Herald,  and  from 
which  the  following  extracts  are  made :  "  After 
a  trial  of  eleven  days  of  patient  investigation,  two 
sessions  each  day,  and  a  hard  study  every  night 
of  Samoan  genealogies,  customs,  titles  and  prac- 
tices, I  came  to  the  conclusion,  from  a  legal  and 
conscientious  point  of  view,  besides  upon  the 
treaty  and  the  laws  and  customs  of  Samoa  not  in 
conflict  therewith,  that  Tanu,  the  son  of  the  late 
king  Malietoa,  and  who,  by  the  gift  of  the  peo- 
ple, had  been  endowed  with  the  name  of  Malie- 
toa, was  duly  elected  king.  .  .  .  The  natives 
during  the  delivery  of  the  decision  exercised  a 
discretion  which  was  the  better  part  of  valor. 
Things  were  exceedingly  quiet  and  respectful  on 
the  surface,  and  the  crowd  dispersed  peacefully. 
The  United  States  consul,  Osborne,  and  the 
British  consul,  Maxse,  accepted  the  decision  for 
their  respective  governments.  But  the  German 
consul,  General  Kose,  refused  to  accept  the  de- 
cision for  his  government,  A  meeting  of  the 
consuls  and  the  captains  of  the  English  and 
German  men-of-war  was  held  within  an  hour. 
The  American  and  English  consuls  and  Captain 
Sturdee  proposed  that  the  king  (in  whose  favor 
I  had  decided)  be  immediately  recognized  by  the 
consuls  calling  upon  him  and  the  war  ships  giv- 
ing him  a  royal  salute.  The  German  consul  and 
the  captain  of  the  German  war  ships  refused  to 


SAMOA.  145 

do  so.  "Within  two  hours  the  German  consul, 
for  the  defeated  side,  and  other  German  sympa- 
thizers were  leading  the  armed  troops  of  the 
Mataafa  faction  into  the  streets  of  the  munici- 
pality. The  president,  a  German,  threw  all  his 
influence  on  that  side,  and  the  Mataafa  people, 
realizing  that  they  had  the  support  of  the  Ger- 
man consul,  of  a  German  man-of-war  and  of  the 
entire  German  population,  gathered  together 
with  amazing  quickness  thirty-five  thousand  men. 
The  Malietoa  people,  when  it  became  known  that 
the  Mataafas  were  going  to  make  war,  got  to- 
gether all  the  men  they  could  in  Apia  and  the 
surrounding  villages,  about  two  thousand.  Things 
became  so  very  exciting  that  the  captain  of  the 
British  war  ship  sent  a  guard  of  forty-eight  men 
to  protect  all  Britishers  and  Americans,  who  had 
taken  refuge  with  six  hundred  women  and  chil- 
dren in  the  houses  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society  inclosure.  The  guard  kept  the  position 
with  remarkable  courage  without  firing  a  shot. 
The  battle  took  place  within  a  few  hundred 
yards  of  their  ground.  The  ]\raliotoa  party  lost 
three  hundred  men.  The  chiefs  became  ex- 
hausted, and  asked  protection  of  the  British  war 
siiij).  They  and  the  young  king  wore  kept  at  the 
mission  house,  and  the  lighting  men,  about  one 
thousand  two  hundred  escaped  in  their  boats  to 
the  British  man-of-war,  where  ropes  were  thrown 


146        THE   CONVERSION    OF   THE   MAOIIIS. 

out  to  them.  The  ship  was  anchored  about  four 
huiulred  yards  from  the  beach,  and  there  she 
proudly  rode  the  tide  surrounded  by  the  native 
boats  of  these  one  thousand  two  hundred  natives, 
Avho  had  sought  her  shelter  and  protection.  It 
■was  a  grand  sight !  For  the  next  three  days  the 
Mataafas  plundered  and  burned  two  hundred 
houses,  destroyed  banana  and  fruit  trees.  They 
closed  up  the  supreme  court,  stationed  round  it 
an  armed  force  and  published  a  proclamation, 
that  the  court  should  not  be  opened  except  upon 
their  order.  President  Raff  el,  a  German,  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  provisional  government. 
Immediately  called  upon  the  consuls  of  the  three 
governments  for  protection  in  reopening  the 
court.  The  German  consul  refused.  The  United 
States  and  British  consuls  laid  the  matter  before 
the  captain  of  the  British  ship,  who  promptly 
tendered  me  all  the  force  required.  I  issued  a 
notice  that  the  court  av ould  be  opened  at  twelve 
o'clock  the  next  day.  The  British  consul  gave 
notice  to  all  American  and  British  subjects  to 
come  on  board  the  man-of-war  before  eleven 
o'clock,  and  the  captain  gave  notice  to  the  cap- 
tain of  the  German  ship,  advising  German  sub- 
jects to  go  to  places  of  safety,  as  he  was  deter- 
mined to  open  fire  at  any  time  after  half-past 
eleven  o'clock,  if  my  purpose  of  reopening  the 
court  should  be  resisted. 


SAMOA.  147 

"By  eleven  o'clock  the  ship  was  well  filled 
with  women  and  children,  only  a  few  men  com- 
ing on  board,  be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  their 
courage,  for  when  I  landed  at  twelve  o'clock, 
practically  all  the  Americans  and  Britishers  in 
Apia  were  on  the  spot  ready  to  cooperate  with 
our  governments.  You  would  have  been  de- 
lighted with  the  sight. 

"  At  ten  minutes  before  twelve  o'clock  two 
consular  boats  started,  the  one  in  front  flying  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  with  Consul  General  Osborn  on 
board,  and  the  other  flying  the  English  Jack, 
with  Consul  Maxse  at  the  tiller.  A  few  yards  to 
their  rear  I  em])arked  in  an  armed  cutter  under 
command  of  Lieutenant  Barker,  with  twenty- 
eight  blue  jackets,  each  with  his  Lee-Metford 
rifle  and  forty  rounds  of  ammunition.  I  stood 
on  the  poop  of  the  little  cutter,  and  in  the  bow 
was  a  quick-firing  machine  gun. 

"Before  landing,  we  observed  tliat  the  street 
sides  of  the  courtliouse  were  surrounded  by  Ger- 
man officials  and  subjects.  Tlie  marines  were 
h'ft  on  the  pier,  while  tlie  two  consuls  and  my- 
self advanced  about  a  hundred  yards  to  the  court- 
house, the  Britishers  and  Americans  backing  us 
up.  We  walked  straight  to  the  German  lines, 
and  pushing  the  gate  aside,  I  stepped  on  the  ve- 
ran(l;i,su|iported  by  the  two  consuls  and  Lieuten- 
ant Barker. 


148        THE   CONVERSION    OF   TJIE   MAORIS. 

"  The  German  olficials  wished  to  discuss  the 
situation,  but  we  indignantly  refused,  and  I  de- 
manded the  keys  of  the  courthouse  from  Presi- 
dent Raffel,  denouncing  him  as  a  traitor  to  the 
treaty  and  a  usurper.  He  refused  to  surrender 
them,  and  I  thereupon  called  upon  the  bystand- 
ers to  assist  me  in  a  forcible  entry. 

"  There  was  a  general  response,  but  the  man 
who  reached  the  veranda  first  was  an  American 
carpenter  named  Willis,  and  then  a  British  boat 
builder  named  Mackie.  The  clerk  of  tlie  court 
Denvers,  was  pummeling  away  with  a  small 
hammer.  Willis  and  Mackie  secured  a  sledge 
hammer  and  soon  the  doors  fell  in. 

"  Lusty  cheers  were  given  for  the  chief  justice 
and  the  supreme  court,  and  the  flag  was  then 
hoisted  by  a  Britisher,  who  clim})ed  to  the  top  of 
the  pole.  The  marines  had  in  the  meantime  been 
marched  up,  and  formed  in  line  inside  the  court 
inclosure,  and  as  the  flag  went  up  they  gave  it  a 
salute." 

Our  commercial  relations  with  Samoa  began  in. 
1878,  with  General  Grant's  administration,  when 
his  attention  was  called  to  the  necessity  of  pos- 
sessing in  the  South  Pacific  a  coaling  station  for 
the  United  States'  cruisers  in  time  of  w^ar.  Per- 
ceiving the  desirability  of  such  facilities,  the  presi- 
dent sent  Colonel  A.  B.  Stenberger  to  Samoa  as 
commissioner,  and  with  power  to  act.    Upon  pre- 


SAMOA.  149 

senting  his  credentials  to  the  king,  he  was  ac- 
cepted, and  the  request  of  the  president  granted. 
It  is  said  that  the  Samoa  flag,  consisting  of  seven 
stripes,  red  and  white,  representing  the  seven 
islands,  with  a  white  star  in  blue,  emblematic  of 
the  island  of  Upolu  as  the  seat  of  government, 
was  raised.  Foreign  officials  were  notified  of 
the  flag  and  constitution,  and  a  great  procession 
of  eight  thousand  subjects  took  part  in  recogni- 
tion of  the  event. 

In  189U  a  portion  of  the  front  shore  was  bought 
by  the  United  States.  The  Germans  owned  in  1894 
seventy-five  thousand  acres,  the  British  thirty-six 
thousand  acres,  and  the  United  States  twenty-one 
thousand.  The  Cleveland  government  recom- 
mended the  withdrawal  of  the  United  States 
from  Samoa,  on  the  ground  that  the  climate  was 
unhealthy  for  white  people,  the  commerce  worth- 
less, the  new  government  expensive  and  trouble- 
some, that  the  undertaking  had  failed  to  secure 
any  hopeful  result,  and  that  it  involved  foreign 
entanglements.  The  McKinley  government  is 
more  ho])eful.  CMiiof  Justice  Chambers  advocates 
annexation  of  the  islands  by  Great  Uritain.  The 
natives  appear  to  be  in  favor  of  such  a  step. 
Both  British  and  Am(!rican  residents  think  that 
the  complete  disarming  of  the  whole  poj)uhition 
is  imperative  fis  well  as  the  abolition  of  the  king- 
ship, to  prevent  dislurbance.     It  is  supj)osed  that 


150        THE   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAOKIS. 

rival  chiefs  "would  be  satisfied  if  a})pointed  to  rule 
their  own  districts  with  small  salaries. 

Apia,  the  scene  of  the  insurrection  of  1899,  is 
the  capital  of  Upolu.  It  is  a  pretty  little  village, 
situated  at  the  northeastern  part  of  the  bay  of 
Apia.  The  name  Apia  is  applied  to  the  whole 
bay.  It  has  a  beautiful  beach  of  coralline  sand, 
and  immediately  back  of  the  town  are  stately 
cocoa  palms.  Two  streams  of  fresh  water  flow 
down  from  the  mountains  into  the  bay,  dividing 
it  into  two  parts  ;  between  these  rivers  stands 
the  village  of  Apia,  a  straggling  line  of  some 
seventy  to  eighty  houses  of  all  sorts  and  sizes, 
round  the  edge  of  the  horseshoe  bay.  There  is  a 
beautiful  coral  reef  projecting  a  long  way  out 
into  the  harbor,  with  surf  dashing  on  it,  which 
makes  it  a  magnificent  sight.  The  bay  on  the  ar- 
rival of  steamers,  is  alive  with  canoes  of  various 
sizes.  Near  the  landing  place  are  two  or  three 
hotels,  stores,  the  courthouse  and  jail.  At  Point 
Mulinuu  are  the  residence  of  the  German  consul, 
a  few  small  stores  and  a  shipyard,  and  further  back 
is  an  extensive  plantation,  which  gives  the  place  a 
beautiful  appearance.  At  the  other  end  of  the 
bay  are  the  sandy  point  of  Matautu,  a  few  stores, 
a  native  village,  the  residence  of  the  king  of 
Samoa,  the  mission  house  and  school  of  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society,  In  this  school  there  are 
five  hundred  scholars,  and  one  hundred  young 


SAMOA.  151 

men  studying  for  the  ministry,  who,  after  a 
four  years'  course,  are  sent  forth  as  mission- 
aries to  the  various  islands  of  the  Pacific.  On 
the  hill  back  of  the  town  there  are  the  French 
Roman  Catholic  College  and  church,  with  resi- 
dences of  the  bishop,  priests  and  nuns,  which 
give  a  very  imposing  appearance  to  the  town 
from  aboard  ship  in  the  harbor.  The  town  is  built 
on  a  flat ;  a  portion  of  it  on  the  left  is  swampy. 
Back  of  the  town  are  beautiful  hills  gradually 
rising,  until  they  develop  into  a  mountain  of 
some  eight  hundred  feet.  In  fact,  a  range  of 
mountains  extends  in  the  center  of  Upolu  from 
east  to  west.  There  is  a  good  road  going  up 
from  the  village  into  the  interior,  which  passes 
close  to  the  residence  of  the  late  Robert  L.  Stev- 
enson, later  the  home  of  William  L.  Osborn,  a 
bright  young  man,  who  is  thoroughly  posted 
about  Samoa  and  in  sympathy  with  the  natives. 
The  army  of  ]\[ataafa  in  the  revolution  of  1899 
destroyed  this  beautiful  home.  The  scenery 
around  Apia  is  most  cluirming.  Very  few  native 
houses  can  be  seen  from  the  harlwr.  The  houses 
of  the  natives  are  thatched  with  leaves  of  sugar 
cane,  and  .sup|)ortod  by  center  posts.  They  luive 
scarcely  any  furniture.  A  sh^iping  apartment 
consists  of  a  Utw  mats  on  the  dirt  floor. 

The  Sanio.'ins  nra  of   Polynesian  race.      Tiicy 
are    tall    and   handsonic,  and   of  a   ligiit   brown 


152        THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MAORIS. 

color,  truthful,  respectful  to  women  and  affec- 
tionate to  children.  The  natives  in  the  interior, 
are  superior  to  those  living  round  the  bay  of  Apia. 
They  are  fond  of  pleasure,  indolent,  careless  about 
work  and  earning  money.  Nature  bountifully  sup- 
plies all  they  need  for  the  sustenance  of  life.  Tlie 
German  planters  are  obliged  to  import  nearly  all 
their  labor  from  New  Hebrides,  New  Britain 
and  Solomon  Islands.  They  cannot  get  the  Sa- 
moans  to  work  on  their  plantations.  But  the 
natives,  nevertheless,  till  their  own  soil,  make 
mats  and  fish.  Eoast  pig  is  a  great  treat  with 
the  Samoans.  It  is  said  that  tine  mats,  tine  pigs, 
and  fine  women  are  the  three  things  that  attract 
the  male  Samoan.  Males  are  tatooed  from  the 
waist  to  the  knees.  Before  death  the  sick  are 
visited  to  bid  them  farewell.  Mormon  mission- 
aries, who  have  lived  in  the  interior  of  the  islands 
for  some  three  years,  report  that  the  Samoans 
are  exceedingly  hospitable.  Every  village  has 
a  guest  house  for  reception,  lodgings  and  enter- 
tainment of  visitors.  Food  is  provided  by  the 
village.  No  charge  is  made.  The  earth  yields 
plenty  of  food  without  toil  and  the  climate  is  so 
warm  that  the  people  need  not  wear  any  clothes. 
They  are  expert  climbers  and  divers. 

They  are  religious,  they  attend  church  regu- 
larly, three  or  four  times  on  Sunday.  They  read 
the  Bible  and  sing  in  concert.     Mission  colleges 


SAMOA,  153 

and  schools  have  been  founded  in  many  places  on 
the  islands,  by  the  London  Missionary  Society, 
Wesleyans,  and  French  Roman  Catholics.  It  is 
estimated  that  there  are  about  live  thousand  na- 
tives connected  with  the  Wesleyans,  and  nearly 
as  many  attend  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  whole  population  nominally 
belong  to  the  London  Missionary  Society.  The 
gospel  was  first  introduced  into  Samoa  in  1830  by 
Revs.  John  Williams  and  L.  Barff.  Seven  native 
teachers  from  the  mission  at  Raiata  were  left 
on  the  island  of  Savaii,  and  when  Rev.  John 
Williams  visited  the  islands  two  years  after, 
many  were  found  trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus  as 
their  Saviour.  He  was  greatly  encouraged. 
The  mission  was  snp[)lemented.  In  ten  years 
the  Samoans  had  embraced  Christianity,  and  the 
good  work  has  been  going  along  there  ever  since. 
The  present  staff  of  the  London  Society  are 
seven  missionaries,  with  their  wives,  and  some 
two  hundred  native  preachers  and  teachers. 
Annually  the  white  missionary  visits  these 
schools,  examines  the  scholars  and  offers  })rizes. 
Then  the  annual  collection  for  missions  is  re- 
ceived. Nearly  all  the  children  from  seven  years 
up  can  road  and  write.  The  Samoans  are  great 
Scrij)ture  readers,  the  I>il)Ie  JK'ing  tlicir  text-hook 
in  school.  Many  of  the  natives  ;ii-e  line  Cliris- 
tians,  while  alas,  the  iirijority  of  tliein   an-  <>iily 


154        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

nominally  Christian  and  are  low  in  morals.  They 
have  great  regard  for  the  Lord's  Day.  No  work 
is  done,  and  no  fruit  is  sold  to  any  vessel  in  the 
harbor. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 

From  Sydney  to  Wellington. 

On  a  bright  morning  in  the  month  of  No- 
vember, 1896,  the  writer,  his  wife,  and  little  girl 
of  five  summers,  stood  on  the  wharf  at  Sydney, 
Australia,  ready  to  go  aboard  the  steamer  "  Wa- 
katipu  "  for  New  Zealand,  Lying  alongside  the 
wharf,  on  the  other  side  was  the  Royal  Mail 
Steamer  "x\lameda,"  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
flying  from  her  mast.  She  was  getting  ready  to 
sail  in  a  few  days  by  Auckland,  Kew  Zeakind,  for 
San  Francisco,  United  States,  our  home  country. 

We  had  left  this  dear  land  in  July,  crossed  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  traveled  in  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land and  sailed  from  London  by  the  way  of  the 
Suez  Canal,  and  Colombo,  to  Sydney,  and  now  in 
a  few  days  we  expected  to  complete  our  journey. 

As  we  stood  and  looked  at  the  "AVakatipu,"  she 
seemed  very  small  in  comparison  with  the  line 
and  commodious  Peninsular  and  Oriental  Steamer 
"  Himalaya,"  in  which  wo  had  sailed  from  London. 
I'ut  wo  wont  aboard  of  hor  with  courage,  anticijiat- 
ing  that  our  journey  by  sea  would  soon  bo  at  an 
end.  It  was  1.45  Saturday  i*.  M.  when  our  boat 
157 


158        THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MAORIS. 

drew  up  anchor  and  sailed  away  toward  the  dis- 
tant iskinds  of  New  Zealand. 

We  watched  the  town  of  Sydney  grow  smaller 
and  smaller  until  we  could  see  it  no  longer. 
Then  we  turned  our  attention  to  the  scenes  about 
us.  Our  steamer,  we  were  told,  was  very  old  but 
steady  and  reliable.  She  had  about  forty  pas- 
sengers aboard  and  when  we  got  out  away,  two 
young  stowaways  were  found  in  the  ship.  Her 
cargo  of  two  thousand  tons  included  eleven 
horses,  a  collie  dog.  Jack,  and  some  birds,  chiefly 
Australian  parrots.  Among  the  passengers  were 
a  Church  of  England  rector  and  his  wife,  resi- 
dents of  New  Zealand,  a  rosy  cheeked  woman 
from  Brisbane,  a  grey-haired  father  and  his  only 
idolized  baby  boy,  a  very  red  faced,  white  haired 
man  accompanied  by  a  young  man  as  traveling 
companion,  a  consumptive  young  lady,  a  Chicago 
drummer,  a  mother  and  her  little  girl  who  was 
badly  afflicted  with  bronchitis,  besides  several 
other  agreeable  persons. 

After  lunch  we  seated  ourselves  on  the  lower 
deck,  near  the  stern  of  the  boat,  it  being  too 
wind}^  to  go  up  on  the  upper  one.  This  was 
practically  stored  with  crates  of  fruit,  some  for 
the  ship's  supply,  others  for  Wellington.  The 
part  of  the  lower  deck  where  we  sat  was  parti- 
tioned off  from  the  fore  deck  by  a  piece  of  can- 
vas.    This  was  to  prevent  the  spray  from  dash- 


APPENDIX.  159 

ing  over  us.  Subsequently  this  canvas  was  re- 
moved, and  we  had  more  space  in  which  to  move 
about.  On  the  other  side  of  the  boat  was  a  pile 
of  boards  on  which  the  children  played,  and  the 
older  passengers  sat  occasionally  just  for  a  change 
of  position  and  scene. 

For  the  first  four  days  of  our  voyage  we  were 
out  of  sight  of  land.  The  Aveather  was  very  fine 
and  the  boat  was  very  steady.  We  found  the 
passengers  sociable.  The  captain  near  whom  we 
sat  at  the  table  was  a  quiet,  unassuming  man. 
He  had  but  recently  been  promoted  from  second 
mate  to  his  present  position  and  this  was  his  sec- 
ond trip.  The  former  captain  had  been  removed 
some  months  previous  on  account  of  a  slight  col- 
lision of  the  "  Wakatipu  "  with  another  boat  while 
leaving  port. 

Little  Phyllis  had  won  his  attention  by  pre- 
senting him  with  a  tiny  metal  bell,  which  she 
requested  him  to  carry  in  his  pocket.  She  would 
remind  him  at  mealtime  of  her  gift,  and  he  tak- 
ing it  from  his  pocket  would  reply,  "  Yes,  I  shall 
keep  it  to  rememl)cr  you  by." 

Wednesday  morning  only  a  faint  outline  of 
land  appeared,  which  gradually  assumed  propor- 
tions until  it  arose  distinctly  eight  thousand  two 
hundnid  and  sixty  U'ot  above  the  sea  hsvcl  as  Aft. 
Egmont,  its  head  raised  in  kingly  beauty  and 
crowned  with  a  snfjw-wliite  ci'own.     Jn  front  of 


160        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

US,  back  of  us,  and  on  botli  sides,  one  by  one, 
arose  bold  mountains  standing  like  huge,  giant 
warriors,  ready  to  contest  with  any  foe  which 
might  arise.  We  were  told  that  many  years 
ago  Dame  Nature,  unable  to  control  her  pent-up 
wrath  any  longer,  burst  forth  in  such  rage  that 
she  threw  up  these  silent  spectators  of  her  un- 
controllable anger.  They  became  so  firmly  fixed 
in  their  terror,  that  they  remain  to-day  as  objects 
of  great  interest  to  travelers  on  the  sea.  By 
Thursday  we  reached  Cook  Strait,  which  sepa- 
rates the  North  from  the  South  island,  after 
passing  Pencarrow  and  Palmer  Heads,  the  cap- 
tain steering  very  carefully  by  Barrett  Reef,  we 
passed  Waddell  Point  and  Ward  Island.  As  we 
rounded  Hals  well  Point,  we  sighted  Wellington, 
the  capital  of  the  North  island.  Like  a  trans- 
formation scene  on  canvas,  it  grew  from  an  in- 
distinct cluster  of  buildings  in  a  hollow,  to  green 
hills,  red  houses,  yellow  houses,  stone-colored 
houses,  some  on  top,  some  on  the  sides  and  more 
at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  wharves,  boats,  business 
blocks,  conveyances  and  people.  As  soon  as  our 
steamer  was  sighted  from  land,  the  news  was 
communicated  to  the  signal  station  at  the  Heads. 
As  we  rounded  the  point,  the  flag  signaling  our 
steamer  from  the  south  which  had  been  hanging 
at  the  right  side  of  the  signal  staff  on  one  of  the 
high  hills  in  the  city,  was  hoisted  on  top.     In 


APPENDIX.  161 

this  vraj  those  interested  in  her  arrival  had 
ample  time  to  reach  the  wharf,  and  meet  their 
friends. 

Our  first  impression  of  Wellington  as  seen 
from  the  steamer's  deck  at  a  distance,  was  that 
of  a  miniature  city  of  toy  houses,  grouped  to- 
gether in  a  hollow,  upon  which  the  high  hills 
surrounding  it  threatened  to  fall  at  a  moment's 
notice  and  bury  it  out  of  sight.  More  fortunate 
than  many  strangers  who  land  on  these  foreign 
shores,  we  had  relations  whom  we  had  come  out 
to  see,  waiting  on  the  wharf  to  welcome  us. 
After  our  trunks  had  been  opened,  the  contents 
inspected  and  no  smuggled  goods  found,  wo 
drove  up  to  our  relatives'  hospitable  home,  which 
stands  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  city  and 
harl)or.  Here  we  were  to  stay  a  few  weeks  and 
then  travel  about  the  islands,  and  in  this  Avay  be- 
come better  acquainted  with  New  Zealand,  its 
customs  and  its  pe()i)le. 

"We  found  it  advisable  to  rest  for  a  few  days, 
for  the  motion  of  the  boat  still  remained  in  our 
heads  and  we  had  become  so  accustomed  to  it, 
that  we  found  it  difficult  to  sleej)  well  at  night 
in  a  motionhiss  bed  on  a  quiet  floor.  When  wo 
attempted  to  walk  we  found  our  legs  unsteady 
and  our  feet  unc«;rtain  in  their  stej)s,  but  these 
feelings  ])ass(.'(I  off  in  a  few  d.-iys,  and  we  began 
to  feel  very  iiiuch  like  our  loiiuer  selves  and  to 


1G2       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

take  an  interest  in  this  empire  city  of  New  Zea- 
land, with  a  population  of  forty  thousand. 

Even  in  this  small  colony  society  was  di- 
vided into  two  classes.  The  "  select "  reveled  in 
balls  and  rowing  matches,  Avhile  the  "  popular  " 
engaged  in  horse-racing.  There  is  a  lady  liv- 
ing in  Wellington  who,  we  are  told,  has  the  invita- 
tion card  to  the  first  ball  given  in  the  settlement 
in  1841.  Thus  for  a  year  everything  was  prosper- 
ous, until  in  1842  a  fire  broke  out,  which  caused 
a  loss  of  £16,000  pounds  to  the  first  colonists. 
This  seemed  to  retard  the  progress  of  the  place, 
and  money  became  so  scarce  that  in  1844  and 
1845  the  government  issued  debentures  printed 
on  blue  paper  as  low  as  five  shillings  with  five 
per  cent,  interest.  Later  on  copper  coinage  was 
represented  by  the  pennies  made  out  of  packing 
cases,  and  marked  with  I.,  II.,  III.  for  shillings. 
In  1843  there  was  great  rejoicing  when  the 
Scotch  thistle  was  introduced  into  the  colony, 
and  planted  with  great  ceremony  by  the  Scots 
on  St.  Andrew's  Day  on  Mr.  Lyon's  farm  near 
Petone.  To-day  it  is  one  of  the  greatest  pests  of 
New  Zealand. 

In  the  year  1896,  two  thousand  one  hundred 
and  eighty-four  ships  came  in  from  foreign  ports, 
and  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty  three  tons  of  cargo  were 
handled  over  the  wharves,  except  the  Railway 


APPENDIX.  163 

"Wharf.  In  1895,  nearly  eighteen  thousand  tons 
of  produce  were  shipped  from  Wellington  and 
sent  principally  to  London.  In  the  list  was  in- 
cluded frozen  and  preserved  meat,  tallow,  leather, 
grain,  agricultural  produce,  butter,  cheese,  bones, 
horns,  hides,  kauri  gum,  pumice,  hops,  wool, 
gold,  oils,  timber,  silver,  hemp,  flax  and  skins. 

Back  of  these  busy  wharves  a  long  street  runs, 
which  together  with  the  land  farther  back  of 
fifty-two  acres  and  a  main  street,  goes  by  the 
name  of  Lambton  Quay.  Near  the  wharves  it  is 
lined  on  both  sides  with  bond  stores  and  ware- 
houses. Some  of  these  are  very  fine  buildings, 
such  as  E.  W.  Mills,  Sargood,  Son  and  Ewen  and 
the  "Wellington  Woolen  Company.  A  large 
golden  British  lion  rests  serenely  on  the  top  of 
one,  and  two  caryatids  pose  gracefully  over  the 
door  of  the  other.  On  the  other  hand  are  the 
police  station  and  the  supreme  court,  large  stone 
buildings,  the  Lone  and  Mercantile  Company's 
structure  and  the  grain  and  wool  stores. 

In  one  of  the  old  wooden  buihlings  near  the 
wharf  is  a  room  fitted  uj)  with  tables,  chairs, 
papers  and  a  lil)rary.  This  is  called  the  "  Sail- 
or's Rest."  One  day  we  pec])0(l  in  and  saw 
several  rough-looking  seamen  sitting  at  the 
tables  playing  games,  while  others  were  reading. 
Near  tlie  railroad  wliicli  runs  along  the  back 
street  of  the  wliarves,  are  the  long  railway  sheds, 


10-i       THE   CON  VERSION    OF   TIIK   MAORIS. 

which  are  used  for  storing-  goods.  The  Harbor 
Board  has  two  line  stone  buildings  and  in  one  of 
them  a  comfortable  waiting  room  for  ladies,  who 
are  going  by  boat.  There  is  a  three-story  build- 
ing for  storage.  The  upper  floor  will  hold  eigh- 
teen thousand  bales  of  wool. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  the  wharves  is  the  post 
office,  a  large,  square,  stone  building,  with  a  round 
cupola  and  clock  and  chime  of  bells  ;  next  to  it  is 
the  handsome  red  brick  building  with  greystone 
trimmings,  recently  erected  by  the  New  Zealand 
Government  Insurance  Company.  The  entrance 
is  by  two  iron  gates,  and  the  walls  of  the  vesti- 
bule are  inlaid  with  polished  reddish  tiles.  On 
the  right  is  the  office  of  the  Government  Insur- 
ance Company,  and  on  the  left  the  head  offices 
of  the  Graymouth  and  Point  Elizabeth  Kail- 
way,  and  MacDougall  &  Company.  A  fine  red 
brick  public  library  has  recently  been  erected 
not  many  streets  away.  There  is  a  separate 
reading  room  for  ladies.  In  the  same  line  is  the 
Union  Steamship  Company's  building  and  the 
warehouses  of  Turnbull  &  Company.  The  for- 
mer company  was  formed  in  1861,  and  at  that 
time  had  only  two  little  paddle  steamers.  Now 
it  has  many  large  and  fine  boats,  running  in  the 
colony  and  also  to  England,  and  San  Francisco. 

In  1818  there  were  several  earthquakes  in 
"Wellington,  which  made  cracks  in  the  mud  five 


APPENDIX.  165 

feet  wide  and  one  hundred  yards  long,  and  in 
1855  one  was  accompanied  by  a  tidal  wave  so 
that  the  water  came  up  to  a  man's  knees.  These 
earthquakes  necessitated  that  all  buildings  con- 
structed should  be  of  wood,  as  they  would  ex- 
pand more  easily  with  the  shock.  We  experi- 
enced two  slight  shocks  which  began  with  a 
rumble  and  then  a  shaking  of  the  house  and  fur- 
niture. As  these  convulsions  became  less  fre- 
quent and  the  people  more  courageous,  brick  and 
stone  took  the  place  of  wood.  Bat  in  no  building 
is  the  use  of  wood  more  marked  than  in  the  gen- 
eral government  building,  which  is  said  to  be  the 
largest  wooden  building  in  the  Southern  llemi- 
sjihere.  It  covers  two  acres  of  land ;  it  is  four 
stories  high  and  has  three  front  entrances.  There 
is  a  clock  over  the  middle  entrance,  and  guarding 
it  are  the  lion  and  the  unicorn, 

We  went  into  the  front  vestibule.  Hung  on 
the  walls  are  views  of  New  Zealand,  and  on  the 
iloor  there  stood  rows  of  potted  plants.  There 
were  long  leather-covered  seats  for  visitors.  A 
guard  in  British  uniform  was  walking  u|)  and 
<l()\vn  the  coi-ridors.  This  imincnse  building  con- 
tains from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  one;  hundi'cMl 
and  seventy  ollic(!S  of  m(;n  in  government  service. 
Tiiere  are  several  rooms  in  the  rear  which  are 
used  for  litliogra|)hie  j)rinting. 

A  shoi't  distance  from  iho  government  building 


166        THE   CONVEKSION    OF   THE   MAORIS. 

are  the  Museum  and  Church  of  England  ceme- 
tery. The  Museum  is  well  worth  several  visits, 
while  to  the  lovers  of  seclusion  and  meditation 
the  cemetery  is  a  beautiful  spot.  The  collection 
in  the  Museum  is  very  large.  In  our  visit  we 
took  note  particularly  of  those  things  which  we 
had  not  seen  elsewhere.  Among  the  animals 
were  a  preaching  and  a  negro  monkey,  a  leo})ard 
with  her  baby,  a  leopard  seal,  a  Polish  bull  and 
an  Australian  hedgehog.  We  never  saw  such 
bright  plumage  as  the  birds  had.  The  collection 
included  the  morepork,  swamp  hen,  pelican,  with 
an  immense  beak,  four  little  parson  birds  with 
white  collars,  the  tailless  kiivi,  and  the  kea 
stripping  a  dead  lamb  of  the  fat  near  the  kid- 
neys, of  which  it  is  very  fond.  These  birds  are 
being  exterminated  in  New  Zealand,  as  they  are 
so  destructive  to  the  sheep.  What  a  variety  of 
fish  the  New  Zealand  waters  yield !  The  blue 
shark,  elephant  fish,  sole,  schnapper,  ling,  frost, 
marble,  trumpeter,  rock-cod,  flounder,  turbot, 
haddock  and  others.  The  shells,  corals  and  star- 
fish are  lovely,  and  the  sponges  of  the  most  curi- 
ous shapes. 

On  a  large  platform  is  a  relief  map  of  New 
Zealand  painted  in  brilliant  colors,  and  curious 
footprints  from  Poverty  Bay.  An  immense  skel- 
eton of  a  raoa,  a  curious  bird  which  lived  on  the 
island  in  early  days,  graces  a  part  of  the  build- 


APPENDIX.  167 

ing.  There  are  coins,  minerals  and  curios  from, 
the  Sandwich  and  Fiji  islands,  and  Japan,  and 
glass  cases  of  bright-winged  South  African  lo- 
custs and  South  American  butterflies.  There 
were  two  other  cases.  One  of  them  contained 
two  Maori  heads  and  a  plaque  of  a  Maori 
woman,  with  long,  green  stone  eari-ings,  carrying 
a  baby  on  her  back,  carved  in  kauri  gum.  In 
the  other  were  two  curious  pictures  made  by 
placing  a  mold  in  the  spring  at  Auvergne, 
P' ranee,  when  the  mineral  deposit  formed  the 
picture. 

Among  the  Maori  relics  was  a  mat  that  at- 
tracted much  notice.  It  was  woven  of  feathers 
from  the  New  Zealand  pigeon,  kaka,  hina,  white 
heron,  kiivi,  and  had  a  fringe  of  dog's  hair. 
There  was  a  war  cloak  made  of  the  thongs  of 
dogskin ;  red,  black  and  white  flags,  riddled 
with  balls,  from  the  Maori  wars,  and  an  old 
drum  taken  from  the  battleiield  in  the  Crimean 
war. 

It  was  a  most  beautiful  day  when  we  strolled 
up  and  down  the  hilly  narrow  paths  of  the  Eng- 
lish cemetery.  Here  grow  in  l)eautiful  profusion 
the  native  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  country,  and 
inters])(Tsed  among  the  green  arc  the  brilliant 
red  of  the  geranium  and  the  dark  ])urple  of  the 
fuchsia.  There  are  no  ancient  gravestones  here, 
but  many  odd   designs  not  met   with   in   other 


168        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

countries.  Some  of  the  graves  are  surrounded 
by  narrow  paths,  bordered  by  box  hedges.  On 
them  are  gkiss  cases  containing  wax  wreaths  and 
over  the  whole  is  a  frame  of  wire  netting.  This 
is  carefully  padlocked.  A  fence  with  a  gate  on 
which  there  is  a  black  and  gilt  door  plate  with 
the  family  name,  incloses  the  quiet  resting  place 
of  the  dead.  The  top  of  another  grave  is  paved 
with  black  and  white  tiles  in  checker-board 
design.  Near  by  is  a  large  rock  inscribed  with 
the  names  of  a  father  and  daugliter.  Three 
long  upright  stones  standing  side  by  side  mark 
the  grave  of  one  who  belonged  to  the  Order  of 
the  Druids.  Some  of  the  graves  are  thicklj'' 
covered  with  shells.  The  largest  monument  we 
saw  is  of  marble  with  stone  steps.  It  is  of  one 
of  the  earliest  settlers  and  representatives  to  the 
First  Parliament.  Another  pyramidal  grey-stone 
monument,  surmounted  by  a  Greek  cross,  marks 
the  remains  of  a  captain  in  the  Bengal  Cavalry. 
Close  to  it  is  the  grave  of  the  first  Primitive 
Methodist  minister  who  crossed  the  equator.  A 
little  way  off  and  rising  up  above  a  mass  of 
green  ivy,  stands  a  white  angel  with  folded  arms 
and  a  star  of  hope  on  her  forehead. 

On  our  return  down  the  path  toward  home,  we 
stopped  for  a  long  time  before  a  granite  sar- 
cophagus, on  which  are  carved  two  small  white 
marble  caskets,  bearing  floral  emblems  and  the 


APPENDIX.  169 

names,  "Clara,  Ada,  nine  months.  Twins 
Taken." 

But  the  most  touching  spot  of  all  is  a  tiny 
baby's  grave,  remote  from  the  others  and  almost 
hidden  by  the  tall  grass  round  it.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  box  hedge,  and  two  little  empty 
stone  jugs  stand  at  its  head  and  foot.  While  we 
stood  looking  at  this  nameless  grave,  a  little  bird 
on  a  tree  overhead  dropped  a  feather  from  its 
tail,  which  fell  down  and  rested  noiselessly  upon 
it.  Had  the  little  form  beneath  been  alive,  how 
it  would  have  reached  out  its  baby  hands  to 
catch  it ! 

Not  very  far  away  is  the  Botanical  Garden  of 
one  hundred  acres.  Hilly  paths  traverse  this 
wild  growth  of  New  Zeahind  l)usli.  A  massive 
stone  circular  fort  with  a  toinlj-like  inclosure  for 
magazines  is  about  com})leted.  From  the  top  of 
this  elevation  a  very  fine  view  of  the  city  and 
harbor  can  be  obtained.  There  are  deep  ravines 
in  the  garden  which  are  full  of  tree  ferns,  Eng- 
lish ])ines,  tea  tree  and  varieties  of  other  bush. 
There  are  seats  here  and  there  to  rest  one's  limbs 
after  traveling  over  the  steep  hills. 

Thorndan  is  called  the  aristocratic  part  of 
Wellington.  Besides  the  (iovcrmncnt  House, 
Parlianiont  T'uilding,  and  lioinati  ('atliolic, 
Presl)Vt('rian  .-ind  Congregational  cliurclics,  there 
are    ytny   many    pretty   lionics    in    tiiis    locality. 


170        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

The  Government  House  is  an  imposing  brown 
wooden  building  Avith  a  square  tower.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  extensive  grounds.  The  cost  was 
£30,000.  The  Parliament  Building  is  of  light 
grey  wood  with  red  trimmings.  The  lawns 
about  it  are  well  kept  and  the  gardens  are  full  of 
beautiful  flowers.  There  is  a  custodian  to  show 
visitors  about  the  building.  The  front  entrance 
leads  into  a  large  lounging  hall,  hung  with  pic- 
tures and  furnished  with  comfortable  leather- 
seated  sofas.  It  reminded  us  of  the  old  Parlia- 
ment House  in  Edinburgh.  The  dining  room 
has  a  bar  attached.  The  sitting  room  and  library 
open  into  each  other  and  are  furnished  with  all 
the  comforts  of  a  home  drawing-room.  The 
library  numbers  some  thirty-eight  thousand  vol- 
umes. We  have  spent  many  happy  hours  read- 
ing in  this  cozy  room.  Parliament  consists  of 
two  houses,  the  upper  and  the  lower  house.  The 
former  is  hung  with  green  rep  curtains,  and  por- 
traits of  the  deceased  members  adorn  the  walls. 
The  speaker's  chair  and  table  are  at  one  end  of 
the  room.  The  representatives'  seats  with  desks 
are  arranged  in  semicircles  facing  the  speaker. 
Four  galleries,  for  ladies,  the  press,  strangers,  and 
speakers,  extend  round  the  room. 

The  upper  house  is  a  smaller  room  furnished  in 
grey  and  gold.  The  seats  and  desks  are  similar 
to  those  in  the  lower  house.     There  is  a  Life-size 


APPEJfDIX.  171 

portrait  of  Queen  Victoria  on  the  wall,  and  the 
door  mats  are  stamped  with  a  crown  and  H.  M. 

The  governor  of  the  colony  is  appointed  by  the 
queen,  with  a  salary  of  £5,000  a  year,  which 
is  paid  by  the  colony.  lie  always  opens  the  up- 
per house. 

The  Legislative  Council  consists  of  forty-four 
members,  two  Maoris  included,  who  are  ap- 
pointed for  seven  years.  The  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives consists  of  seventy -four  members  and 
four  Maoris,  elected  for  three  years  by  tlie  votes 
of  the  people  in  every  electoral  district  appointed 
for  that  purpose.  Although  tlie  Electoral  Act  of 
1893,  extended  to  women  the  right  to  register  as 
electors  and  to  vote  at  the  election  for  members, 
they  are  not  qualified  to  be  elected  as  members 
of  the  House. 

There  are  several  theaters  and  lialls  of  the  dif- 
ferent lodges  in  the  city,  (.'hurches  are  numer- 
ous and  represent  some  six  denominations.  The 
Jews  have  their  synagogU(^s,  and  the  Salvation 
Army  a  now  bi-ick  citadel.  Kent  Terrace  Pres- 
byterian (Jliurcli  has  recently  l)een  completed. 
Saint  J(jlin's  I'resln'terian  Church  i.s  one  of  the 
wealthiest  .-md  most  prosperous  churches  in  the 
colony.  Two  relics  of  the  past  still  remain:  a 
S(!ries  of  steps.  calle(|  "  I'liininer's  Steps,"  which 
lead  up  from  l,;iiiil)t<)ii  (Jn.iy  to  ".Noah's  Ark," 
the    honu,'    of  old   "  l'alh(  r  \\'ellin'^ti>n."     There 


172        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

lias  been  worked  into  this  house  the  hulk  of  a 
vessel  which  came  to  AV'ellington  in  the  early  days. 

On  the  side  of  a  hotel,  in  AVillis  Street  are  a 
dozen  carved  wooden  heads,  which  are  called  the 
"  Old  Identities,"  and  represent  the  pioneer  fath- 
ers of  the  city. 

At  the  Tearo  end  of  the  city  are  the  Lunatic 
Asylum,  the  Hospital  which  will  accommodate 
one  hundred  and  thirty-two  indoor  patients  and 
three  hundred  outdoor  patients.  Boys'  College, 
Barracks,  Basin  Eeserve  and  Saint  Patrick's 
College,  built  in  1884. 

The  industries  of  the  city  are  numerous,  and 
include  iron  and  brass  foundries,  factories,  saw 
mills,  soap,  candle,  glass  and  match  works,  boat, 
rope,  twine,  sash,  door  making,  meat  freezing  and 
preserving  works.  There  are  two  daily  and 
several  weekly  papers.  The  city  is  supplied  with 
electric  lights,  which  are  kept  burning  from  sun- 
set to  sunrise.  The  Avaterworks  were  built  at  a 
cost  of  £130,000.  One  acquainted  with  the  early 
history  of  the  city  will  readily  see  that  the  names 
of  its  places  and  streets  form  a  key  to  its  coloni- 
zation and  development.  The  liabilities  of  the 
city  are  now  £707,209  and  the  assets  £1,022,151. 

It  was  our  pleasure  one  day  to  attend  the 
annual  bowling  tournament.  This  took  place  on 
the  bowling  green,  Avhich  is  some  distance  from 
the  business  part  of  the  city.    The  green  had  the 


APPENDIX.  173 

appearance  of  a  shaded  tapestry  carpet.  There 
was  a  concrete  walk  round  it  and  long  narrow 
beds  of  bright  flowers.  The  sides  of  the  green 
sloped  in  terraces,  and  seats  were  placed  here  and 
there  for  visitors.  There  was  a  pavilion  Avith 
two  verandas  where  tea,  sandwiches  and  cake 
were  served  b}^  a  committee  of  ladies.  The 
bowlers  wore  different  kinds  of  suits,  and  differ- 
ent colored  bands  on  their  hats.  The  game  of 
bowls  consists  in  one  side  rolling  the  balls  as 
near  as  possible  to  the  little  white  ball  called  the 
jack,  while  the  object  of  the  opponent  is  to  try 
to  drive  the  balls  away.  There  was  the  great- 
est interest  and  quietness  on  the  part  of  the 
bowlers.  It  is  called  "  The  Old  Men's  Game,"  as 
so  many  white-haired  men  indulge  in  it.  For 
eight  months  in  the  year  the  leading  business 
men  in  the  city  are  found  at  the  green  every 
afternoon  from  four  to  six,  and  on  Saturday  from 
two  to  six.  Although  thoroughly  engrossed  in 
their  business  during  the  regular  hours,  and  ac- 
cumulating wealth,  they  turn  to  this  simple  game 
for  rest  to  both  mind  and  body. 

The  farewell  recej)tion  given  by  the  citizens  of 
Wellington  in  the  exhibition  building  to  tlie 
governor  and  J.ady  Olasgow  was  a  great  success. 
We  were  fortunate  in  ol>taining  admission  to  it. 
Upon  our  entrance  into  tlie  l)uilding  we  saw  two 
long  rows  of  tlie   Pcniianciit  Artillery  and  the 


171       THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MAORIS. 

Wellington  Guards  standing  facing  each  other. 
At  8:30  in  the  evening  the  viceregal  party  con- 
sisting of  the  governor  and  the  mayoress,  Lady 
Glasgow  and  the  mayor,  the  governor's  three 
daughters  escorted  by  officers  of  the  squadron, 
the  private  secretary  and  two  captains  entered 
the  building,  and  conducted  by  an  old  piper  in 
kilts,  who  played  McKiller's  "  Farewell "  passed 
down  between  the  rows  of  soldiers  into  a  draw- 
ing-room in  front  of  the  stage,  while  a  band 
played  the  national  anthem. 

Soon  the  audience  was  ready  to  enjoy  the 
evening.  The  people  were  in  their  best  attire, 
many  of  them  in  fine  evening  dress.  The  hall 
was  decorated  with  the  flags  of  the  different 
countries.  Over  the  stage  was  the  Wellington 
Corporation's  coat  of  arms  and  "  Good-bye. 
Now  fare  you  well  and  joy  be  wi'  you." — Burns. 
The  Koyal  Standard  and  New  Zealand  Ensign 
surmounted  with  the  earl  of  Glasgow's  coat  of 
arms  also  graced  the  stage.  The  programme  was 
long  and  consisted  of  songs  and  farewells  from 
the  city,  Caledonian  Society  and  the  governor. 
Eefreshments  were  afterwards  served. 

The  next  important  event  was  the  farewell  to 
the  governor  and  family  as  they  sailed  away 
from  New  Zealand.  Long  before  the  time  of 
the  departure  of  the  family,  the  "  Talue,"  which 
was  to  convey  them  lay  at  the  wharf  waiting. 


APPENDIX.  1Y5 

The  "  Corinna  "  and  "  AYaliinapua  "  which  were 
to  accompany  the  "  Talue  "  to  "Worser  Bay  were 
full  of  passengers,  as  was  also  the  wharf  and 
every  available  place  near.  Ropes  were  stretched 
in  front  of  the  crowd  so  as  to  preserve  a  way  for 
the  governor's  party.  Two  lines  of  artillery- 
men, volunteers  and  sailors  were  arranged  on  the 
wharf  for  the  farewell.  The  Wellington  Eowing 
Club  was  also  present.  At  3:30  the  band  played, 
there  was  a  sound  of  horses'  feet,  and  on  came, 
first,  the  baggage  van,  then  two  carriages  con- 
taining the  family.  Lady  Glasgow  was  leaning 
against  a  pillow  and  as  we  were  very  near  to 
her,  we  could  see  that  she  was  controlling  herself 
admirably.  One  of  the  daughters  was  weeping. 
It  was  but  a  short  time  before  the  steamer  sailed 
away  and  the  last  thing  we  saw  was  the  gov- 
ernor and  the  family  on  the  captain's  bridge 
waving  their  handkerchiefs,  while  cannons  and 
rockets  were  fired  and  the  crowd  gave  three 
hearty  cheers.  Lord  and  Lady  Glasgow  had 
been  in  New  Zealand  for  five  years,  and  had  won 
the  love  and  appreciation  of  its  people.  Upon 
their  return  the  following  message  was  received 
from  them : 

"MELHoruNE,  Fob.  17,  1897. 
"To  the  Editor  New  Zealand  Times: 

"Siii: — Now  that  I  have  sullicient  leisure 
to  be  able  to  look  back  more  calmly  at  our  do- 


176       THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MAORIS. 

parture  from  New  Zealand,  I  hope  you  will  allow 
me,  through  your  columns,  to  express,  however 
inadequately,  on  behalf  of  Lady  Glasgow  and  my- 
self, our  deep  appreciation  of  the  cordial  leave- 
taking  accorde(l  to  us  on  that  occasion.  The 
scene  which  met  our  eyes  when  Ave  went  on 
board  the  '  Talue '  was  a  most  impressive  one, 
and  we  were  much  moved  and  touched  by  the 
spontaneousness  of  the  gathering,  and  by  the 
heartiness  of  the  reception  we  got  from  the  vast 
crowd  which  had  assembled. 

"  As  long  as  we  live  we  shall  never  forget  our 
leaving  New  Zealand.  The  many  tokens  of  re- 
gard which  we  received  from  the  })eople  as  our 
vessel  left  the  wharf,  were  the  last  but  not  the 
least  of  the  many  proofs  we  have  received  during 
our  stay  in  the  colony,  of  the  kindly  feeling  en- 
tertained toward  us  by  the  inhabitants  of  Well- 
ington, a  feeling  which  we  have  always  thor- 
oughly reciprocated.  AVe  shall  never  forget  New 
Zealand,  nor  its  warm-hearted  people,  in  whose 
welfare  we  shall  always  take  the  deepest  interest. 
"  I  am,  sir,  yours  faithfully, 

"  Glasgow." 

Two  more  important  events  took  place  here 
during  our  stay.  The  first,  the  marriage  of  the 
premier's  daughter,  was  a  pretty  affair.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed  in  St.  Paul's  church,  which 
was  very  tastily  decorated  with  flowers.  The 
pillar  at  the  end  was  festooned  with  green  and 
the  chancel  was  filled  with  potted  plants.  The 
wedding  ceremony  was  performed  under  a  large 


APPENDIX.  177 

bell  made  of  white  flowers  and  green  vines. 
There  was  a  lover's  knot  of  white  satin,  with 
the  initials  of  the  bride  and  groom  at  the  ends 
on  the  front  of  the  bell.  The  bride  was  dressed 
in  white  and  the  little  maids  of  honor  carried 
crooks.  There  was  an  address  to  the  newly- 
wedded  pair  after  the  ceremony.  The  wedding 
was  public  so  the  church  was  full.  The  majority 
of  the  people  belonged  to  the  working  class,  and 
so  anxious  were  they  to  see  the  ceremony  that 
they  stood  on  the  seats  of  the  pews.  There  were 
some  babies  in  the  audience.  The  list  of  presents 
filled  two  or  three  columns  in  the  daily  paper. 

We  must  not  forget  the  Industrial  Exhibition 
which  continued  for  many  months  in  the  city, 
and  was  attended  every  day  by  hundreds  of  peo- 
ple. IIow  different  was  the  first  exhibition  in 
1841,  when  two  cabbages  weighing  twenty-one 
and  a  half  and  twelve  pounds,  potatoes  nine 
inches  long,  and  turnips  twenty-one  inches  in 
circumference,  wheat,  and  apples  grown  on  Eng- 
lish trees  formed  the  princi[)al  objects  of  interest 
in  this  exhibition  in  the  early  days  of  the  city. 
A  few  weeks  ago,  when  we  ])ass(!d  down  the 
halls  of  the  large  newly  built  exhibition  build- 
ing, what  a  variety  of  objects  met  our  eyes! 

The  first  thing  that  attracted  our  notice  was  a 
fountain  playing  upon  the  green  ferns  which 
were  planted  round  its  bas(^     Flags  hung  from 


178        THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MAORIS. 

the  interior  of  the  building.  On  our  left  was  an 
exhibit  of  coal  from  the  Greymouth  Coal  Com- 
pany, and  a  case  of  beautiful  polished  gums. 
Two  tables  carved  from  New  Zealand  wood 
were  lovely.  There  was  an  art  gallery  of  paint- 
ings, some  of  them  finely  executed,  and  trout 
ponds  banked  with  ferns.  We  were  much  inter- 
ested in  the  work  of  the  little  kindergarten  chil- 
dren. Specimens  of  their  sewing  attracted  our 
notice,  such  as  buttonholes,  a  little  sleeve,  dresses 
and  a  tiny  shirt.  There  were  paper  cutting, 
wickerwork,  clay  dogs,  cats,  bead  flowers,  woolen 
chickens,  and  a  painted  drain  pipe  covered  with 
paper  mats.  Then  there  was  the  work  done  by 
the  more  advanced  scholars.  A  map  of  the 
world  by  a  girl  thirteen  years  old  was  very  fine. 

The  home  industries,  such  as  a  framed  picture 
of  shells  and  seaweed  from  Wellington  Bay, 
and  ornaments  made  of  bone,  showed  ingenuity. 
There  was  a  little  rustic  cottage  made  of  moss 
and  sticks  with  a  piece  of  mirror  for  a  pond,  that 
Avas  really  a  marvel  of  skill  for  a  child  only  thir- 
teen years  old.  In  one  corner  of  the  building 
were  samples  of  paper  made  by  W.  H.  Parsons 
of  New  Zealand.  Sixty  tons  were  made  in  one 
day,  and  eighteen  great  rolls  are  used  in  one 
week  for  printing  the  Wellington  Evening  Post. 

There  were  exhibits  of  candles,  Avoolen  goods, 
tobacco  grown  in  New  Zealand,  blankets,  ledger 


APPENDIX.  179 

books,  Tvire  mattresses,  and  many,  many  other 
things  grown  or  manufactured  here.  There  were 
jars  of  pickles,  chowchow,  ketchup,  sauce  and 
many  other  condiments  made  from  New  Zea- 
land produce  by  a  young  man  twenty  years  of 
age.  His  photograph  ornamented  one  of  the 
jars.  We  have  not  space  to  enumerate  the  other 
interesting  things  we  saw.  Suffice  it  to  say 
Wellington  has  reason  to  be  proud  of  its  Indus- 
trial Exhibition  of  1896-'97. 

Wishing  to  vary  our  programme  a  little  and  to 
see  something  beyond  the  city,  we  took  a  trip  by 
rail  to  a  little  village  nine  miles  out  called  the 
Flower  Hutt.  The  Hutt  river  runs  through  the 
village,  dividing  it  into  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Hutt.  We  t<jok  the  train  from  the  Tearo  station 
and  found  to  our  delight  that  we  were  riding  in 
a  real  American  car,  the  first  we  had  seen  since 
leaving  home.  The  ride  to  the  Hutt  is  particu- 
larly pretty,  as  the  railroad  curves  along  the  edge 
of  the  water  nearly  all  the  way.  We  put  our 
heads  out  of  the  windows  and  saw  the  small 
engine  away  on  ahead,  and  our  cars,  curving 
like  a  serpent,  following  on  behind.  We  went 
through  three  little  places  with  queer  IMaori 
names  and  then  came  to  the  Lower  Hutt.  There 
was  a  drag  ^vaiting  at  the  station  and  we  got 
into  it,  and  rode  to  McNabb  (hardens,  the  princi- 
pal oljject  of  interest  at  the  Hutt.     Wo  got  out 


180        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THK   MAORIS. 

at  an  iron  gate,  through  whicli  we  went  up  a 
long  graveled  walk,  until  we  came  to  a  large 
lawn  on  which  there  was  a  fine  tennis  court. 
There  was  a  pretty  cottage  house  at  one  side  and 
wood  verandas  running  round  it.  Extending 
back  and  on  the  other  side  were  well-kept  gar- 
'dens  full  of  the  most  beautiful  flowers.  Back  of 
the  house  was  a  cage  witli  several  monkeys  in  it. 
There  was  also  a  well  of  water  in  which  hung  a 
stone  pot  containing  some  pats  of  butter.  We 
strolled  for  a  while  about  the  gardens,  sat  on  the 
lawn,  watched  the  monkeys  in  their  queer  antics 
and  then  v.^ent  into  the  cozy  drawing-room,  where 
we  had  cake  and  glasses  of  rich  creamy  milk. 
The  older  ones  chatted  while  Phyllis  ran  outside 
to  see  the  monkeys  again  and  to  run  about  the 
grounds.  One  of  the  monkeys  had  been  allowed 
to  roam  at  large  a  few  weeks  previous  and  hav- 
ing gained  access  to  a  boarder's  room,  she  had 
torn  up  his  photographs,  broken  his  mirror,  and 
done  so  much  mischief  that  she  was  shut  up 
again  in  the  cage.  She  had  a  great  fondness  for 
a  little  puppy  that  lived  on  the  grounds,  and 
when  it  was  given  to  her,  she  took  it  in  her  arms 
and  held  it  as  a  mother  does  her  baby,  while  she 
tried  to  rock  it  to  sleep. 

Our  dinner  was  served  in  a  private  room,  and 
we  remember  particularly  the  luscious  strawber- 
ries  and   thick   cream.     After   dinner  we  were 


APPENDIX.  181 

strolling  about  when  we  saw  a  carriage  load  of 
tennis  players  coming  up  the  walk  for  a  game  on 
the  lawn.  We  had  our  afternoon  tea  and  re- 
turned home  with  two  beautiful  bouquets  and 
pleasant  memories  of  our  afternoon's  outing  at 
the  Ilutt. 

We  had  an  opportunity  one  evening  of  seeing 
the  interior  of  the  Opera  House,  a  plain,  square, 
grey-stone  building,  and  hearing  a  very  good 
opera  by  the  Choral  Society  of  the  city.  The 
chorus  consisted  of  some  two  hundred  and  lifty 
singers  and  an  orchestra  in  which  thei-e  were  two 
lady  violinists.  The  alto  and  soprano  singers 
were  dressed  in  white  with  wide  red  and  blue 
ribbons  fastened  diagonally  from  shoulder  to 
waist,  the  colors  indicating  the  respective  parts. 
The  bass  and  tenor  singers  were  seated  with  the 
rest  of  the  chorus  on  the  stage  back  of  the  or- 
chestra. The  conductor,  the  soloists  and  the 
chorus,  all  did  their  })arts  well.  The  majority  of 
tlio  ladies  and  genth^iiicn  in  the  audience  were  in 
evening  dress.  The  whohj  aifair  was  very  cred- 
itable f(^r  ^\'(•lliIl;i■t(>n  home  tah-nt. 

Quite  the  ojjpc^site  to  tliis  entertainment  was 
the  twenty-eiglith  anniversary  of  the  St.  John's 
Presbyterian  Cliiirch  which  we  attended.  Hero 
the  chapel  was  thrown  ojx-n  and  for  a  couj)le  of 
hours  there  was  a  "  conversazione "  with  santl- 
wiches,  cakes,   tea  and  coffee   for  refreshment. 


182        THE   CONVEKSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

Then  the  large  number  were  seated,  and  speeches 
by  different  prominent  Presbyterian  clergymen 
in  the  colony,  bearing  upon  the  joyl'ul  anniver- 
sary of  the  church,  were  listened  to  by  an  ap- 
preciative audience.  There  was  a  grand  piano 
upon  the  platform  and  the  programme  was  varied 
from  time  to  time  by  songs  and  instrumental 
music  by  the  organist  of  the  church  and  by 
members  of  the  choir.  As  the  organist  was  a 
very  fine  pianist  and  the  voices  of  the  singers  were 
well  trained,  this  part  of  the  entertainment  was 
very  enjoyable.  We  remember  one  young  Scotch 
lady  w^ho  sang  "  The  Land  o'  the  Leal "  most 
simply,  but  very  touchingly.  It  was  rendered 
more  so  by  her  pretty  Scotch  accent.  But  most 
curious  to  relate  two  ladies  who  were  present  at 
the  church  anniversary  found  out  very  much  to 
their  surprise  that  their  pockets  had  been  picked, 
and  money  taken  while  they  were  enjoying  the 
exercises.  People  engaged  in  such  a  profession 
are  not  generally  found  in  religious  circles. 

The  2.5th  of  December  came  and  with  it  the 
roses  and  singing  of  birds.  The  stores  were  full 
of  beautiful  Christmas  goods,  and  the  streets  of 
customers  hurrying  to  and  fro,  their  arms  full  of 
bundles.  "  Father  Christmas  "  appeared  in  many 
shops  dressed  in  furs,  wig  and  mask,  jingling  his 
bells  and  greeting  the  children  as  they  entered. 
Christmas    trees   hung   with   gifts   one   shilling 


APPENDIX.  183 

apiece  were  largely  patronized  by  the  little  cus- 
tomers. Another  custom  is  that  of  each  little 
one  buying  a  gift  for  him  or  herself.  But  we 
missed  the  evergreen  wreaths,  holly  boughs, 
snowdrifts  and  the  reindeer  sleigh.  We  could 
not  reconcile  Christmas  with  warm  winds,  thin 
clothing  and  hot  sunshine,  but  things  are  differ- 
ent on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  globe. 

On  New  Year's  Day  it  was  warm  and  bright, 
and  we  took  what  is  called  the  Queen's  drive  to 
Island  Bay.  It  was  hot  in  the  dusty  street,  but 
as  we  neared  the  water  a  fresh  breeze  sprang  up 
and  cooled  our  heated  faces.  We  reached  the 
hotel  and  although  we  were  not  hungry  after  our 
hearty  dinner,  still  we  must  fall  in  with  the  col- 
ony's custom  and  eat  our  cake  and  drink  our  tea, 
and  feeling  quite  refreshed  we  drove  with  the 
sea  on  one  side  and  high  land  on  the  other.  Soon 
we  came  to  a  large  opening  in  the  side  of  the 
liill.  "  This  is  the  hermit's  cave  ;  would  you  like 
to  get  out  ?  "  said  our  friend.  "  Yes,  we  want  to 
see  all  there  is  to  be  seen,"  replied  a  voice.  So 
we  all  got  out  of  the  carriage  and  stepped  inside 
of  the  cave.  It  is  a  strangr  dwelling  place  for  .a 
human  being,  dark,  daiiij)  mikI  dirty.  Yd  in  this 
secluded  al)odo,  its  only  riiiiiiturc  ;i  lianl  wooden 
pallet  and  a  sli<'lf  of  p;uiiplil(;ts  and  |);Lp(!rs,  there 
has  lived  for  many  years  a  j)al(!,  emaciated  man, 
secluding  himself    from  the    beautiful  worhl   in 


184       THE   CONVEESION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

which  God  has  placed  him,  and  wasting  in  this 
solitary  cavern  by  the  sea  a  life  full  of  grand  op- 
portunities for  doing  good  in  the  world.  God 
have  pity  on  his  ignorance ! 

As  we  drove  round  the  bend  in  the  road  what 
a  contrasting  picture  met  us  !  We  heard  merry 
peals  of  laughter  mingled  with  the  shouts  of 
children.  All  along  the  shore  were  picnic  par- 
ties, fathers,  mothers  and  children.  A  camera 
would  have  made  a  number  of  pretty  pictures. 
One  was  a  horse  unhitched  and  unharnessed, 
strolling  along  leisurely,  and  nibbling  the  fresh 
grass  by  the  roadside.  The  family  carriage  was 
empty  and  resting  on  the  ground  ;  at  a  little  dis- 
tance was  the  steaming  "  billy  "  or  tinpail  hung 
on  cross  sticks  over  a  blazing  fire.  A  tablecloth 
was  spread  on  the  beach,  and  it  was  loaded  with 
tempting  food.  Round  it  was  seated  the  family, 
some  eating  and  some  drinking  tea,  while  the  lit- 
tle ones  had  their  mugs  of  milk.  A  little  way 
on  another  family  had  finished  their  picnic  and 
while  the  mother  was  gathering  up  the  dishes 
and  remnants  of  food,  the  father  and  children 
were  wading  in  the  water  and  tlirowing  in  sticks 
for  the  pet  dog  to  swim  to  and  bring  back  in  his 
mouth  to  the  shore.  As  we  passed  this  last  group 
an  older  daughter  rode  up  on  horseback  to  drive 
home  with  her  family.  The  whole  scene  was  so 
real,  so  homelike,  so  pleasant  that  we  could  not 


APPENDIX.  185 

help  contrasting  it  with  the  one  "we  had  left  be- 
hind us — the  lonely  hermit  in  his  dreamy  solitude, 
and  the  happy  family  enjoying  together  the  fresh 
air  and  sunshine  of  this  lovely  world. 

It  was  a  very  cold,  windy  afternoon  when  we 
went  down  to  the  opening  of  the  new  bath  house 
at  the  Thorndan  end  of  the  city.  "We  could  keep 
our  hats  on  only  by  holding  to  them.  The  bath 
house  is  of  wood,  painted  a  light  cream  with 
round  cupolas  painted  a  dark  green.  Flags  were 
flying  from  these,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  among 
them.  The  admission  to  the  baths  was  a  six- 
pence. A  long  platform  runs  round  the  back 
and  two  sides  of  the  house,  and  bath  houses  open 
into  it.  Steps  go  down  to  the  square  inclosure 
of  water  at  the  end.  There  was  a  large  number 
of  people  collected  on  the  platform,  while  the 
]\rayor's  representative — he  was  himself  in  court 
attending  a  murder  case — in  a  brief  speech  de- 
clared the  baths  open  to  the  public.  Then  fol- 
lowed races  by  swimmers,  three  men  at  a  time, 
then  a  professional  swimmer  plunged  into  the 
water  and  performed  all  kinds  of  antics,  swim- 
ming with  one  foot  in  the  air,  turning  somer- 
saults under  water,  rolling  over  and  over  like  a 
barrel  and  floating  with  his  eyes  shut.  Then  a 
number  of  swimmers  had  a  lively  game  of  foot- 
ball in  the  water,  and  th<3  grand  linale  was  .-i  man 
put  into  a  bag  thrown  into  the  water  and  ap- 


ISO        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

pearing  above  the  water  out  of  the  bag  in  a  few 
seconds  after  he  was  thrown  in.  During  the  per- 
formance the  band  played  and  tea  and  cake  were 
served  either  on  the  veranda  or  in  the  cozy  little 
room  for  the  purpose.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  Thorndan  Baths  will  have  a  large  patronage. 

AYe  tried  a  salt  sea  bath  one  day  at  the  Tearo 
Baths.  It  consisted  principally  in  clambering 
down  some  very  slippery  rocks,  holding  onto  a 
rope,  and  letting  the  waves  slap  up  against  us 
until  we  were  glad  to  get  our  breaths  and  climb 
up  the  steps  again  into  our  bath  house.  Poor 
little  Phyllis  was  blue  and  shivering  with  the 
cold,  w^hile  the  tears  were  pouring  down  her 
cheeks.  After  a  good  rubbing  and  dressing  and 
running  about,  we  felt  much  invigorated.  We 
were  told  that  the  inclosure  of  the  water  was  to 
prevent  the  sharks,  which  are  frequently  found 
in  the  water,  from  attacking  the  bathers. 

To-day  we  visited  the  supreme  court  and  wit- 
nessed the  exciting  trial  and  sentence  to  death  of 
a  man  found  guilty  of  murdering  an  aged  couple 
living  at  Petone  in  the  city  suburbs.  When  the 
jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  the  judge  put 
on  the  black  cap  and  condemned  the  prisoner  to 
death  by  hanging  after  being  conveyed  to  the 
Terrace  Jail.  The  large  crowd  then  moved 
quietly  out,  and  the  court  room  was  soon  empty. 
The  procedure  of  the  court,  prosecution,  defense 


APPENDIX.  187 

and  trial  were  simple  and  fair,  and  based  upon 
the  law  of  England. 

It  was  on  the  first  of  April  that  we  attended 
the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  the  late  Premier 
Ballance.  Long  before  one  o'clock  a  crowd  of 
men,  women  and  children  and  babies  began  to 
assemble  on  the  grounds  and  outside  of  the  Par- 
liament Building  to  witness  the  unveiling  of  the 
statue  erected  to  the  memor}'-  of  the  late  Premier 
Ballance  of  Xew  Zealand.  It  was  covered  with 
a  dark  red  cloth  buttoned  at  one  side  and  secured 
by  a  rope  at  the  bottom.  It  was  surrounded  by 
a  circle  of  volunteers.  A  man  stood  at  one  side 
with  a  beautiful  wreath.  In  tlic  upper  window 
of  the  store  opposite  was  a  camera  ready  and  on 
a  roof  near  by  another  camera.  Two  men  were 
holding  onto  the  cloth  in  front  of  it,  for  the  wind 
was  blowing  furiously.  There  were  speeches, 
the  long  one  by  Premier  Redden,  after  which 
the  cloth  was  taken  off,  revealing  a  white  statue 
with  an  old-fasliioned  collar,  marked  features  and 
a  pile  of  books  on  tlie  grey-stcme  pedestal.  En- 
graved on  the  base  were  the  words,  "  lie  loved  the 
peopl<.'.'"  T\\i'  wi'cuth  was  lai<l  at  the  foot  of  the 
statue,  pliolographs  were  taken,  and  the  crowd 
(lis])ersed  to  tlie  II(H1s(!  for  theo])('ning  of  Parlia- 
ment, wliich  Ix'gan  with  th(!  (iriiig  of  caniioii  oii 
the  hiwn-tennis  court  back  of  the  House.  Tlu^ 
cannon  carriages  were  drawn  up  on  one  side  and 


188        THE    COxWKKSlON    OF   THE    MAORIS. 

the  horses  ^vere  mounted  by  men  in  uniform. 
We  had  seats  on  the  floor.  There  were  sixteen 
reporters  in  the  gallery,  the  others  were  crowded 
with  men  and  women.  At  the  appointed  hour 
Chief  Justice  Prendergast  (the  governor*  hav- 
ing finished  his  term  of  office  and  returned  to 
England)  drove  up  the  carriage  way,  accompan- 
ied by  mounted  troopers  and  an  escort  of  mili- 
tary men,  the  contingent  who  went  to  the 
Queen's  Jubilee.  Wellington  College  Cadets  as 
a  guard  of  honor  stood  at  the  door.  A  voice 
called  out  in  the  house  "  Mr.  Speaker,"  and  in  he 
came  and  took  his  seat,  a  plain-looking  man  in  a 
dress  suit.  Then  the  usher  of  the  black  rod  in 
a  long  black  gown  announced  "  His  Excellency, 
the  Administrator."  Prendergast  with  a  wig 
and  gown,  knee  breeches,  white  ruffles,  lace  collar 
and  black  velvet  vest  then  came  in  and  took  his 
seat.  Then  came  in  the  sergeant  at  arms  with 
the  golden  mace,  followed  by  the  speaker  of  the 
Lower  House,  the  premier,  ministers  and  mem- 
bers. The  chief  justice  then  opened  Parliament 
by  a  short  speech  which  he  read.  The  object  of 
Parliament  was  to  arrange  for  the  celebration  of 
the  Queen's  Jubilee  (sixtieth  year)  in  London, 
June  22,  and  a  discussion  on  other  matters  relat- 
ing to  the  interests  of  the  colony. 

Our  next  trip  was  to  the  two  small  villages  of 
Carterton  and  Masterton,  which  lie  seventy-two 


APPENDIX.  189 

miles  north  of  "Wellington.  We  left  the  city  at 
3:15  in  the  afternoon  iind  reached  Carterton  at 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Our  ride  by  rail 
through  this  part  of  the  country  gave  us  a  fine 
opportunity  of  seeing  New  Zealand  in  its  native 
dress  and  untouched  as  yet  by  the  hand  of  man. 
For  a  long  distance  our  train  passed  "  bush  " — 
trees,  shrubs,  bushes,  beautiful  ferns,  some  as  large 
as  trees,  and  feather-like  toi-toi.  This  is  a  grass 
which  grows  in  clumps  of  long  narrow  green 
leaves  and  tall  stocks,  the  ends  of  wliich  are  cov- 
ered with  a  light  yellow  plume,  which  looks  very 
much  like  the  pampas  grass  that  grows  in  Flor- 
ida. Every  once  in  a  while  we  would  emerge 
from  this  forest  of  growth  and  stop  at  a  small 
station  to  take  on  or  to  discharge  passengers. 
Then  our  train  would  start  on  again  to  be  lost  in 
a  tunnel.  We  went  through  six  of  these  on  our 
way  to  Carterton,  one  of  them  was  one-half  mile 
in  length.  (Jur  railroad  ran  along  the  Rimutaka 
range  of  mountains  and  some  of  the  views  from 
this  ascending  and  descending  way  are  the  best 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Wellington.  As  we  rode 
along,  on  our  rigiit  the  beautiful  Wairarapa  Lake, 
twelve  miles  long  by  four  miles  broad,  burst  upon 
our  view,  and  the  valhy  eighty  miles  hmg  by 
twenty  miles  wide,  lay  stretched  out  in  ;ill  its 
agricultund  and  growing  Ix'auty. 

Some  of  the  little  stations  at  which  wu  sto[>pcd 


190        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

had  English  names,  such  as  Silverstream,  Cross- 
creek,  Pigeon  Bush,  Featherstone,  Fernside,  and 
Woodside.  Many  of  the  others  had  Maori  names, 
which  only  a  real  Maori  can  pronounce  correctly. 
It  was  raining  hard  when  we  reached  Carterton. 
Soon  we  got  into  a  large  drag  which  was  waiting 

at  the  station  and  drove  to  hospitable  Dr.  Y 's 

home.  We  decided  to  stay  over  Sunday  and 
preach  at  Carterton,  and  then  go  on  to  Master- 
ton.  The  next  day  after  our  arrival  being  Sun- 
day, we  all  went  to  church.  It  was  a  small 
wooden  building  with  uncushioned  wooden  pews 
and  carpetless  floor.  The  congregation  num- 
bered about  seventy-five.  Two  young  ladies 
present  were  in  riding  habits,  as  they  lived  some 
distance  off  and  came  to  church  on  horseback. 
Three  small  birds  which  had  flown  into  the 
window  and  taken  up  their  abode  in  the  wood- 
work in  the  interior  of  the  church,  kept  flying 
about  and  singing  during  the  Avhole  of  the  serv- 
ice. As  the  congregation  did  not  seem  to  notice 
them,  we  concluded  that  it  was  a  common  oc- 
currence. It  was  in  Carterton  that  we  read  the 
first  chapters  in  Ian  MacLaren's  book,  "Days 
of  Auld  Lang  Syne."  It  had  just  arrived  in 
New  Zealand.  It  was  made  doubly  interesting 
as  one  of  our  listeners  was  an  old  Scotch  lady, 
who  understood  perfectly  the  Scotch  language 
and  the  customs  described  in  it.     After  our  short 


APPENDIX.  191 

but  pleasant  visit  in  Carterton,  vre  decided  to 
drive  to  Masterton  about  eight  miles  away,  and 
spend  a  week  there  and  then  return  to  Welling- 
ton. Our  way  led  through  the  one  long  wide 
street  in  Carterton,  on  the  sides  of  which  the 
principal  stores  and  buildings  are  located.  Some 
of  these  are  only  one  story  high.  Soon  we  were 
out  on  a  country  road  and  in  the  little  village  of 
Masterton.  AVe  remained  here  about  a  week, 
enjoying  the  quiet  and  freedom  of  this  country 
village.  There  are  very  pretty  walks  in  Master- 
ton.  One  along  the  banks  of  the  river  bordered 
by  ferns  and  grasses  to  the  old  mill  and  its  re- 
volving wheel,  which  throws  up  the  water  in 
white  spray.  Another  down  a  country  road 
bordered  on  one  side  by  a  beautiful  hawthorn 
hedge.  One  morning  we  took  a  walk  through 
the  business  street.  At  the  end  just  before  we 
reached  the  river,  we  noticed  a  little  house,  one 
side  of  which  was  literally  covered  with  ripe 
apricots,  hanging  from  a  vine  that  clambered 
over  the  entire  front  of  the  house.  We  went 
down  to  the  bank  of  the  river  and  found  a  sandy 
beach  covered  with  peb])los,  ;md  sweet  witli  the 
scent  of  mint  growing  on  it.  This  winding  river 
is  a  pretty  feature  of  tlie  landscape. 

C)nc  day  we  enjoyed  a  real  New  Zealand  ))icnic 
in  the  bush.  Another  day  a  long  drivi^  Ix-liind 
two  spirited   white  horses,  past  largo  fields  of 


192       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS, 

oats  and  wheat  and  extensive  runs  of  sheep  and 
cattle,  to  a  Maori  settlement  or  pa. 

The  houses  were  mostly  one  story  wooden 
houses  of  the  plainest  architecture, — but  what  an 
advance  on  the  original  Maori  huts!  We  saw 
the  old  and  new  civilization  keenly  marked  in 
two  houses  which  stood  side  by  side,  one  a  little 
black  hovel,  empty  and  deserted,  thp  other  a  new, 
painted  wooden  cottage,  Avith  lace  curtains  at  the 
windows  and  little  dark  Maori  faces  looking  out 
at  us.  But  the  thing  which  interested  us  most 
was  the  Maori  church.  It  was  shaped  like 
Noah's  Ark,  There  was  a  door  and  window  in 
front.  The  pillars  in  front  were  carved  with 
hideous-looking  jBgures,  with  pieces  of  pearl 
shell  for  eyes.  The  building  was  painted  black 
and  red.  The  walls  were  made  of  weeds  or 
rushes  laid  closely  together.  As  the  building 
was  locked,  we  could  get  a  glimpse  of  the  in- 
terior only  through  the  window.  The  audience 
room  inside  was  seated  with  benches ;  at  the  rear 
was  a  red  curtain  and  behind  it  a  white  pulpit 
shaped  like  a  tombstone.  We  were  told  that 
services  were  held  here  every  Sunday  and  well 
attended  by  the  Maoris  in  the  settlement.  An- 
other interesting  place  to  visit  in  Masterton  is 
the  trout-hatching  grounds.  The  curator  who 
has  hold  the  position  over  ten  years,  is  a  very 
kind,  obliging  man,  and  is  ready  to  supply  visitors 


APPENDIX.  193 

with  any  information  desired.  He  escorted  us 
about  the  place,  showing  us  the  different  kinds 
of  ducks  and  fowl,  and  then  took  us  to  the  ponds, 
where  the  large  trout  are.  Wishing  to  show  us 
the  size  and  cleverness  of  his  fish,  he  filled  a  pail 
full  of  raw  liver  and  kidneys,  and  walking  along 
quietly  by  the  edge  of  the  pond,  he  threw  in 
spoonfuls  of  this  chopped  mixture.  Hungry  and 
eager  to  be  fed,  the  fish  darted  to  the  surface  of 
the  water.  AVith  a  quick  motion  of  his  hand  he 
caught  them  in  a  net  so  that  we  might  see 
them.  They  were  very  timid,  but  large,  beauti- 
ful trout.  As  soon  as  they  were  released  they 
darted  away  as  fast  as  they  could  swim.  The 
curator  said  they  knew  his  footstep,  and  as  soon 
as  he  appeared  on  the  bank  they  would  follow 
him  for  a  long  distance  coming  every  now  and 
then  to  the  surface  to  be  fed.  We  went  into 
the  hatching  house  and  while  there  the  curator 
explained  to  us  the  process.  As  soon  as  the 
large  trout  in  the  pond  are  "  ripe,"  tlie  spawn  is 
taken  from  them  and  from  it  millions  of  little 
fish  or  "fry  "  are  hatched.  These  are  fed  three 
times  a  day  on  meat  minced  very  lino,  and  passed 
through  a  sieve  of  the  iinest  perforated  zinc,  the 
holes  being  made  larger  as  the  fish  grow.  As 
soon  as  the  fish  arc  old  enough,  they  are  put  into 
the  ponds  tliroughout  the  colony.  There  will 
be  this  year  (1808)  about  one  niillioii  liheraled 


194       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

throughout  North  iskmd  and  the  west  coast  of 
South  iskmd.  The  number  of  ova  collected  last 
year  from  different  kinds  of  trout  at  the  ponds 
and  from  river  fish,  was  two  million,  and  the 
number  of  "  eyed  ova  "  sold  to  other  Acclimatiza- 
tion Societies  in  New  Zealand,  New  South  Wales, 
Queensland  and  New  Zealand  Government,  was 
four  hundred  and  twenty-two  thousand. 

Our  return  to  Wellington  was  by  rail,  the  same 
way  w^e  came,  but  our  train  changed  its  rate  of 
speed,  and  moved  very  slowly,  as  it  w^as  up  grade 
all  the  w^ay.  We  were  thus  enabled  to  get  out 
and  gather  a  large  bunch  of  toi-toi  and  easily 
reach  our  car  by  w^alking  rapidly  after  it.  It 
was  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  and  the  city  was 
ablaze  with  lights  when  we  came  into  the  station. 
It  was  not  long  before  we  were  in  our  comfort- 
able quarters  again,  and  dozing  off  to  sleep  with 
pleasant  memories  of  our  northern  trip. 

Our  stay  in  Wellington  at  this  time  was  very 
short,  of  only  a  few  days'  duration,  but  we  availed 
ourselves  one  afternoon  of  the  opportunity  of 
going  on  St.  John's  Sunday-school  picnic  to 
Day's  Bay,  a  very  pretty  spot  not  far  from  the 
city  and  a  famous  resort  for  picnic  parties.  As 
about  six  hundred  children,  besides  pastor,  offi- 
cers of  the  cliurch,  teachers  and  parents  consti- 
tuted the  party,  two  boats  were  chartered  for 
the  purpose.     These  w^ere  both  comfortably  filled 


APPENDIX.  195 

and  we  set  sail.  When  we  got  some  way  out, 
our  captain  secured  a  majority  of  votes  from  the 
passengers  to  sail  near  an  opposite  shore  to  Day's 
Bay,  so  as  to  see  the  wreck  of  a  vessel,  of  which 
considerable  notice  had  been  taken  lately  in  the 
daily  papers.  The  ship  was  from  London.  It 
was  bound  for  Wellington.  It  had  been  out 
some  ninety  days,  and  had  almost  reached  its 
port,  when  it  ran  against  some  rocks  in  the  night 
and  was  almost  broken  to  pieces.  Our  captain 
steered  the  boat  near  to  it,  and  we  saw  the  huge 
wreck  lying  there  in  the  water.  The  beach  was 
strewn  with  casks  and  debris  and  the  crew  were 
camping  out  along  the  sands  in  tents.  It  was 
while  our  steamer  lay  tossing  about  in  the  waves 
near  the  wreck,  that  many  of  the  picnic  party, 
including  the  little  children,  were  quite  seasick. 
One  of  the  elders  of  the  church,  who  had  not 
approved  of  diverting  from  the  object  of  the 
sail,  ordered  the  captain  to  go  on  and  soon  we 
reached  the  stri})  of  ])each  where  our  picnic  was 
to  be  held.  We  had  a  pleasant  time  conversing 
with  friends,  while  the  children  swung,  waded, 
dug  in  the  sand  and  had  a  good  time  generally. 
There  was  an  abundance  of  sandwiches,  cake, 
and  tea,  and  plenty  of  sweet  milk  for  the  little 
ones.  The  beach  was  smooth  and  sandy  and  cov- 
ered with  very  pretty  shells.  We  came  home  by 
sunset,  singing  Sunday-school  songs.      The  sky 


196        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

was  beautiful  with  red,  pur])le  and  gold  clouds, 
and  as  the  little  children  clambered  up  the  wharf,, 
their  pockets  full  of  candy  from  the  "lolly" 
scramble  on  deck,  they  were  a  tired  but  happy 
company.  To  some  of  them  this  picnic  had  been, 
their  only  holiday  from  home  during  the  year. 

Auckland. 

Auckland,  the  "  Corinth  of  the  South,"  Avas 
settled  a  year  later  than  Wellington.  The  Brit- 
ish flag  was  hoisted  there  on  September  19, 1840, 
by  Captain  W.  C.  Symonds,  at  the  request  of 
Governor  Hobson,  and  was  saluted  by  discharges 
of  guns  from  ships  in  the  harbor.  Auckland  then 
became  the  seat  of  government  and  capital  of 
the  colony.  The  news  spread,  which  caused  a 
great  influx  of  people  from  Australia  and  Europe- 
Prices  of  land  kept  step  with  the  growth  of  the 
population.  The  seat  of  government  was  moved 
to  Wellington  in  1805.  Like  Wellington,  Auck- 
land is  built  on  hills  and  has  one  of  the  finest 
har])ors  in  Kew  Zealand.  The  Calliope  Dock 
is  the  longest  in  the  colony,  five  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet  long,  while  the  Auckland  Dock 
is  three  hundred  and  thirteen  feet  long.  The 
Calliope  Dock  can  accommodate  at  one  time  two 
of  the  largest  vessels  of  Her  Majesty's  fleet.  It 
cost  £135,000.  A  most  beautiful  view  can  be 
obtained  of  the  harbor  and  district  within  the 


'     APPEXDIX.  197 

radius  of  twelve  to  twenty  miles  of  the  city  from 
the  top  of  mount  Eden,  six  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  high.  The  mountain  lies  a  short  distance 
from  the  city. 

The  sky  was  blue  and  atmosphere  very  clear 
the  day  we  went  to  mount  Eden.  It  was  quite 
a  climb  and  as  the  road  curved  nearly  all  the 
way,  it  was  doubly  hard.  The  sun  was  overhead 
and  hot,  but  we  walked  very  slowly.  When  we 
had  reached  nearly  the  top,  we  stopped  to  look  at 
the  large  crater  which  was  full  of  lava  and 
stones,  for  mount  Eden  is  really  an  extinct  vol- 
cano. The  grass  on  the  sides  of  the  mountain 
was  dry  from  the  lack  of  rain,  but  we  saw  some 
horses  feeding  on  it.  At  the  top  of  the  mountain 
there  is  a  long  wooden  seat  in  the  form  of  a 
square,  and  from  the  many  initials  and  names 
carved  in  it,  we  knew  that  many  an  idle  hour 
had  been  spent  here  by  visitors.  We  do  not 
think  the  descriptions  we  have  heard  of  the  view 
from  mount  Eden  at  all  exaggerated.  It  is  cer- 
tainly line — the  liarbor  with  the  blue  water  and 
boats,  and  hills  all  about  the  little  villages  scat- 
tered here  and  there,  and  tlic  city  with  its  build- 
ings and  spires  and  streets,  whicli  look  like  a 
series  of  straight  line's.  We,  found  the  view  so 
enchanting  nnd  the  air  so  pure  and  invigorating, 
we  liated  to  leave  it.  The  descent  was  not  so  la- 
borious as  the  ascent,  and  we  were  fortunate  upon 


198        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

reaching  the  road,  to  lind  a  bus  waiting  for  us 
which  conveyed  us  to  our  boarding  place  in  time 
for  lunch. 

Among  the  fine  buildings  in  Auckland  is  the 
Public  Free  Library,  in  which  the  Art  Museum  is 
located  on  the  second  floor.  This  library  was 
built  with  funds  left  by  Mr.  Costley,  and  it  cost 
£22,000.  There  is  a  reading  room  and  fourteen 
thousand  volumes  in  the  library.  Besides  the 
general  library,  there  is  one  composed  of  rare 
and  original  documents,  donated  by  Sir  Geo. 
Grey,  one  of  the  early  governors.  ^Ye  went  sev- 
eral times  to  the  art  gallery,  which  has  in  it  many 
valuable  pictures  by  the  citizens,  and  the  McKel- 
vie  collection  is  a  little  gallery  in  itself.  Several 
of  these  pictures  remain  quite  vividly  in  our 
mind,  while  others  we  do  not  remember  at  all. 
The  feeble  old  rooster  and  hens,  with  feathers 
all  drooping,  certainly  were  expressive  of  "  old 
age,"  while  "  The  Hermit,"  with  his  shaggy  hair 
and  muscular  frame  was  very  impressive.  "  The 
School  Mistress'  Birthday  "  represented  a  group 
of  children  trooping  up  to  the  school-teacher  and 
handing  her  various  presents.  One  little  girl  has 
a  bird  in  a  cage,  another  an  apple  and  a  third 
with  a  kitten,  with  ribbon  and  bell  round  its  neck. 

The  most  impressive  of  all  the  paintings  was 
founded  on  the  poem  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  on 
the    Laird's    Keturn.     It    showed    Sir   Edward 


APPENDIX.  199 

Spence's  Tvife  and  daughters  on  the  seashore,  in 
different  postures,  looking  off  over  the  water 
for  his  return.  The  coloring,  the  expression  of 
the  faces,  the  attitudes,  the  scenery  and  especially 
the  great  English  mastiff  in  the  fore-ground  are 
beautifully  painted.  There  is  a  pathetic  charm 
about  the  picture  which  attracts  many  to  it. 

Situated  next  to  the  Public  Library  is  the 
Albert  Park  with  its  walks,  flower  gardens, 
lawns,  fine  trees  and  seats  for  visitors.  It  in- 
cludes seven  acres  of  land.  It  is  not  only  a 
pleasure  resort,  but  a  thoroughfare  for  all  classes 
of  people  going  to  and  fro  in  the  city.  It  is  sit- 
uated on  very  high  land,  and  from  the  loftiest 
portion  one  has  a  fine  view  of  the  city.  The  top 
is  surmounted  by  a  flagstaff  which  is  surrounded 
by  antique  cannon  captured  from  the  Russians 
during  tlie  Crimean  war. 

"We  were  in  Auckland  during  the  great  gold- 
mining  boom  at  Coromandel,  and  gold  shares 
were  the  principal  topic  of  conversuticm  among 
the  business  men.  Often  during  the  day  the 
sidewalks  abcnit  the  brokers'  ollices  Avere  so 
crowded  with  men  that  the  ])olice  had  to  make 
way  for  the  other  foot  |)assengers.  At  a  certain 
hour  of  the  day  a  man  would  appear  ringing  a 
bell  in  front  of  the  ollices,  and  then  tlu;  valiK;  of 
stocks  would  be  announced.  Auckland,  like  the 
older  New  Zealand  cities,  has  its  banks,  insur- 


200        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

ance  companies,  warehouses,  and  industries.  It 
has  a  population  of  fifty-two  thousand  including 
suburbs.  Auckland  is  not  only  pretty  in  itself  but 
in  its  suburbs  also.  Rerauera  is  a  lovely  country 
s})ot,  and  New  Market,  a  c<jntrast  in  its  stores. 
Both  are  reached  by  train  or  bus.  If  one  walks 
to  Parnell,  another  suburb,  he  can  have  the  privi- 
lege of  going  up  and  down  one  of  the  steepest 
hills  in  the  city.  This  is  concreted  and  is  called 
"  Constitution  HilL"  After  reaching  the  top,  one 
requires  a  few  minutes  to  recover  breath,  while 
the  descent  must  be  guarded  as  a  fall  might 
prove  fatal.  There  is  also  a  pleasant  domain  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  which  leads  up  to 
the  hospital.  This  is  a  large  stone  building  sur- 
rounded by  extensive  grounds  and  situated  on  a 
high  hill  overlooking  the  harbor.  Among  the 
many  friends  we  made  in  Auckland  was  a  kind- 
hearted  old  Scotch  lady,  whose  husband  and  two 
sons  had  been  lost  at  sea,  and  another  son  had 
been  killed  and  roasted  and  eaten  by  the  canni- 
bals on  the  Fiji  Islands.  We  used  to  visit  her 
often  in  her  pretty  little  home.  Notwithstand- 
ing her  losses  this  dear  friend  always  kept  a 
sunny  face  turned  toward  the  world  and  tried  to 
lessen  the  sufferings  of  others. 

CHRIST   CHURCH. 

Christ  Church  is  situated  in  the  northeastern 


APPENDIX.  201 

part  of  the  Province  of  Canterbury  and  about 
eight  miles  inland  from  Port  Lyttelton.  It  has 
a  population  of  seventeen  thousand,  but  Avith  its 
suburbs  it  embraces  some  fifty-one  thousand  peo- 
ple. It  covers  a  very  large  area  of  land.  The 
best  view  to  be  obtained  of  the  city  is  from  the 
balcony  of  the  Cathedral,  which  is  about  half- 
way up  the  spire.  The  city  proper  is  bounded 
by  four  belts  which  are  one  mile  and  a  quarter 
apart.  The  north  and  east  belts  are  marked  by  a 
footpath  extending  down  the  center  of  the  road 
and  bordered  on  each  side  by  a  wide  strip  of 
grass  and  a  row  of  trees.  The  young  trees  are 
inclosed  for  protection  within  four  narrow  pieces 
of  wood  driven  into  the  ground  and  connected 
near  the  top  by  four  short  pieces  nailed  onto 
them  at  right  angles.  The  west  belt  runs  in 
front  of  the  park  and  the  south  in  front  of  tlie 
radroad  station.  The  streets  of  the  city,  except 
High  Street,  run  north  and  south,  and  east  and 
west.  They  are  named  after  the  English  l)isho])s. 
The  two  squares,  Latimer  and  ("ranmer,  recall  to 
mind  the  two  heroic  martyrs  who  were  burned 
at  the  stake. 

The  dwelling  houses  in  Christ  Church  are 
chiefly  of  wood.  Many  of  them  are  very  pretty, 
with  extensive  grounds,  Ix-autiriilly  l.ii<l  <»iit  and 
well  k('|)t.  Nearly  (ivcry  door  yar(l,  no  matter 
of  what  size,  has  its  garden  oi  hcautirul  flowers. 


202        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

The  churches  are  numerous  and  of  various  de- 
nominations. They  include  a  Jewish  Synagogue, 
a  Duetsche  Kirche,  and  the  famous  Cathedral. 
A  number  of  the  church  edifices  are  of  handsome 
stone  and  pleasing  architecture,  and  with  dark 
green  ivy  clinging  to  them,  remind  the  visitor  of 
some  of  the  churches  in  England.  Although  the 
Wesleyans  and  Presbyterians  are  numerous,  the 
English  Church  claims  the  largest  number  of 
followers.  These  denominational  differences  are 
very  strongly  marked  in  the  new  cemetery, 
^vhere  each  church  has  its  own  burying  section. 

The  prettiest  feature  in  the  landscape  of 
Christ  Church  is  the  long,  narrow,  winding  river 
Avon.  The  Avon  rises  some  five  miles  above  the 
city,  traces  its  serpentine  course  through  the  city 
and  empties  into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Wherever 
a  street  crosses  the  river  it  is  spanned  by  a  bridge 
of  stone  and  iron.  On  both  sides  of  the  river 
willow  trees  wave  their  long,  graceful  branches, 
and  white  and  black  swans  with  white-banded 
red  beaks,  float  noiselessly  over  its  surface.  It  is 
the  delight  of  the  little  children  to  feed  these 
creatures  which  come  to  the  edges  of  the  banks 
for  crumbs.  "We  were  told  that  the  river  wil- 
lows originated  from  the  willows  in  Babylon,  on 
which  the  poor  homesick  captive  Jews  hung  their 
harps,  because  they  could  not  sing  their  songs  in 
a  strange  land. 


APPEN^DIX.  203 

Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montague  carried  cuttings 
from  the  Babylonish  Willows  to  Pope's  garden 
at  Twickenham.  Slips  were  afterwards  taken 
from  these  willows  and  planted  near  Napoleon's 
grave  on  the  island  of  Saint  Helena.  The  first 
French  emigrants  coming  out  to  Xew  Zealand 
touched  at  this  island,  and  brought  out  in  their 
boat  "  Compte  de  Paris "  cuttings  from  these 
willows.  Some  of  them  were  planted  in  Akaroa 
and  some  in  Christ  Church. 

There  is  a  good  library  in  the  city  for  the 
reading  portion  of  the  community.  A  visitor 
can  have  access  to  the  reading  room  and  refer- 
ence library,  and  by  paying  half  a  crown  has  the 
privilege  of  taking  out  books  for  three  months. 
There  are  some  excellent  paintings  of  Xew  Zea- 
land scenery  exhi]>ited  in  the  art  gallery.  "We 
noticed  particularly  a  cluster  of  the  beautiful 
mountain  lilies,  which  are  so  prized  on  this  island. 

The  city  has  a  most  lovely  park  and  domain. 
It  is  laid  out  in  velvety  green  lawns,  broad 
gravel  paths  and  beds  of  bright,  flowery  ])lants, 
some  of  which  are  rare  and  very  interesting  as  a 
botanical  study. 

Aside  from  its  business  revenue,  th(!  (ut}^  de- 
pends largfsly  ujxju  its  grain  and  wool  suj)])lios.  It 
also  exports  largo  quantities  of  fio/.m  meat,  but- 
ter, and  cheese,  to  England.  \V(!  had  almost  all 
kinds  of  weather  exce[»t  extreme  winter  during 


20-i       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

our  stay  in  Christ  Church.  We  remember  three 
days  ill  particular.  On  the  first  the  thermometer 
was  103°  in  the  shade,  130°  in  the  sun.  The  next 
day  the  wind  blew  a  gale  and  the  flying  dust 
resembled  the  picture  of  a  sandstorm  in  the  Ara- 
bian desert,  which  we  had  seen  so  many  times  in 
our  geographies  at  home.  We  went  out  on  the 
street  for  a  short  distance  but  returned  with  the 
springs  so  twisted  in  an  umbrella  we  carried, 
that  it  took  one  of  the  Christ  Church's  practical 
umbrella  makers  to  put  it  to  rights  again  by  a 
new  one.  The  third  day  everything  was  calm. 
The  dust  lay  quietly  in  the  streets.  The  mercury 
fell  in  the  thermometer  and  Ave  put  on  our  winter 
clothes  to  keep  ourselves  warm.  The  night  be- 
fore Christmas  we  awoke  to  hear  the  singing  of 
Christmas  carols  near  our  windows.  The  voices 
of  the  singers  were  sweet  and  were  accompanied 
by  a  little  barrel  organ.  When  we  went  down 
to  the  breakfast  table  in  the  morning,  we  found 
the  dining  room  prettily  decorated  with  long 
sprays  of  "matipo" — a  shrub  Avhose  leaves  are 
small  and  green,  and  the  white  fragrant  flo\vers  of 
the  sweet  jessamine.  "  A  Merry  Christmas  and 
Happy  New  Year  "  in  silver  letters  were  mixed 
in  Avith  the  green  which  adorned  the  Avails.  At 
each  plate  Avas  a  green  and  Avhite  cluster  of 
flowers  and  a  pretty  Christmas  card. 

On  one  dav  Avhen  the  roses  had  reached  their 


APPENDIX.  205 

perfection,  the  finest  ones  were  brought  into  the 
city  by  cfifferent  cultivators  and  exhibited  in  a 
hall.  Prizes  were  offered  for  the  choicest  ones. 
This  annual  rose  show  is  beautiful  and  calls 
forth  the  admiration  of  all  who  see  it.  But  the 
greatest  event  of  the  year  is  the  Canterbury 
Agricultural  and  Pastoral  show.  This  is  held 
in  a  large  park  and  continues  three  days.  It  is 
during  these  da}'s  that  one  has  the  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  finest  sheep,  cattle,  horses,  pigs  and 
fowls  raised  in  Canterbury.  Also  butter  and 
cheese  and  other  products  are  on  exhibition. 
Thousands  of  people  from  the  surrounding  coun- 
try assemble  at  the  show,  and  the  streets  have 
the  appearance  of  a  crowded  home  city.  At  the 
show  in  1896  £1,000  (§5,000)  were  taken  at  the 
entrance  gate. 

The  Canterbury  colony  was  founded  by  an 
English  syndicate,  consisting  of  earls,  lords  and 
bishops.  It  was  to  Ije  a  Church  of  England  set- 
thiment.  On  I>cceinl)or  10,  1S50,  the  band  of 
pilgrims  from  England  arrived  at  Port  Lyttolton 
in  four  vessels,  and  before  tlie  end  of  the  follow- 
ing year  there  were  two  thousand  six  hundred 
people  landed  under  the  leadership  of  a  Mr. 
John  Robert  CTodley.  Sheep  farmers  came  from 
Australia,  bought  land  and  settled  to  raise  sheep. 
The  little  colony  was  very  successful.  Within 
three  years   after   their   arrival   they   exportoil 


206        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

£40,000  Avortli  of  wool  to  the  mother  country. 
In  1853  the  control  of  the  settlement  was  vested 
in  a  superintendent  and  provincial  council,  and 
in  1876  the  whole  district  came  directly  under 
the  management  of  New  Zealand. 

Canterbury  has  by  far  the  finest  grazing  and 
agricultural  land  in  New  Zealand.  It  comprises 
eight  million  seven  hundred  and  seventy-six  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres  of  land  of 
which  one  million  eight  hundred  and  forty  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  eighty-one  acres  are  con- 
sidered first  class,  and  four  million  seven  hundred 
and  seven  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  acres  ranked  as  second  class,  and  the  re- 
mainder as  third,  and  barren  land  of  little  value. 

Lyttelton  is  one  of  the  leading  ports  in  New 
Zealand.  It  is  called  the  "  Port  of  the  Plains." 
It  is  built  on  hills  which  slope  down  to  the 
water's  edge.  There  are  two  breakwaters  which 
encircle  an  area  of  water  of  one  hundred  and 
seven  acres.  This  inclosed  water  space  will  ac- 
commodate twenty-two  ocean  ships  and  steamers, 
twenty  barques  and  brigs,  eight  inter-colonial 
steamers,  thirty  schooners  and  smaller  crafts. 
Long  wharves  on  which  are  built  sheds  extend 
into  the  water.  The  Gladstone  wharf  is  one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  eighteen  feet  long. 
They  are  lighted  by  electric  lights.  Two  of  the 
largest  sheds  hold  eleven  thousand  tons  of  grain. 


APPENDIX.  207 

Railroad  tracks  for  the  convenience  of  baggage, 
etc.,  run  from  the  wharves  to  the  station.  There 
are  batteries  with  electric  search-lights  in  the 
harbor,  and  a  lighthouse  on  one  of  the  hills  a 
distance  out  from  the  wharves,  by  which  vessels 
are  steered  safely  into  port  at  night.  The  ride 
from  Lyttelton  is  through  the  longest  tunnel  in 
Xew  Zealand  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
seventy  yards.  It  takes  six  minutes  to  pass 
through  it.  The  idea  of  tunneling  the  Port 
Hills  was  conceived  by  "Wm.  S.  Moorhouse  in 
1861.  It  cost  £50,000.  The  whole  of  the  im- 
ports and  exports  of  Northern  Canterbury  pass 
through  Lyttelton. 

OTAGO — DUNEDIN. 

The  distance  from  Christ  Church  to  Dunedin, 
the  capital  of  Otago,  is  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
one  miles.  The  journey  by  train  is  most  tedious. 
We  started  from  the  "  City  of  Plains,"  at  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  traveled  all  day  at  a 
speed  of  about  twenty  miles  an  hour,  and  we  did 
not  get  to  Dunedin  until  nine  o'clock  at  night. 
We  stopped  at  several  small  towns  along  the 
line,  and  at  every  station  the  passengers  were 
cordially  received  by  the  inhabitants.  It  appears 
to  be  the  custom  with  these  townsmen  to  turn 
out  on  the  arrival  of  the  northern  train  and  to 
cheer  vociferously  the  passengers  on  both  the  ar- 


208        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

rival  and  departure  of  a  train.  We  passed  some 
of  the  most  level  and  finest  grazing  country  wo 
ever  saw.  From  CKrist  Church  to  Oamaru,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles,  is  a 
beautiful  country  which  averages  from  twenty  to 
forty  miles  in  width,  extending  from  the  sea- 
coast  to  the  foot  of  the  Southern  Alps  of  the 
west  coast,  which  stretch  out  from  thirty  to 
seventy  miles  into  the  interior.  The  Alpine 
Mountains,  which  form  the  backbone  of  the 
South  island,  are  a  continuous  chain  of  grand 
mountains  about  five  hundred  miles  long,  with 
a  succession  of  magnificent  peaks  ranging  in 
height  from  six  thousand  to  ten  thousand  feet, 
and  attaining  their  culminating  point  in  mount 
Cook,  twelve  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  feet  above  sea  level.  I  concur  with  the 
description  given  by  a  mountain  climber,  that 
these  mountains,  "  present  a  splendid  panorama 
of  ice-cold  peaks  and  snow-fields  towering  over 
the  forest  tops  of  the  lower  hills,  the  heads  of 
the  valleys  being  filled  with  glaciers,  whose  ter- 
minal faces  are  glittering  masses  of  almost  un- 
sullied ice.  From  these  glaciers  emanate  the 
river  system  of  the  district,  comprising  the  II ur- 
uni,  eighty-five  miles  in  length ;  Ashburton,  sixty- 
four  miles,  Rangitata,  seventy-four  miles,  and  the 
Waitake,  one  hundred  and  forty  miles.  These 
rivers   rush   down   from   the   mountain   gorges, 


APPENDIX.  209 

through  the  intervening  ranges  and  hills,  and 
traverse  the  plains  to  the  sea." 

We  crossed  the  Waitake,  over  a  fine  iron 
bridge  about  a  mile  long.  It  forms  the  boundary 
line  between  Canterbury  district  and  the  province 
of  Otago. 

At  a  distance,  we  could  see  the  top  of  mount 
Cook,  the  glory  of  New  Zealand,  towering  like 
a  giant  above  the  rest,  with  her  white  snow 
caps  peering  into  the  horizon.  These  wonderful 
scenes,  along  ^^^th  many  herds  of  fine  cattle  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  sheep  in  flocks  and 
pastures,  help  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  tire- 
some journey. 

When  we  arrived  at  Dunedin  it  was  dark  and 
wet.  We  felt  strange  in  a  strange  city ;  however, 
the  streets  being  well  lighted,  I  managed  to  walk 
up  a  steep  hill  to  Moray  Place,  where  I  was 
hospitably  entertained  during  my  stay  in  the 
metropolis.  On  Sunday  I  preached  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  ;  in  tlie  morning  it  was  rain- 
ing hard.  I  thouglit  we  would  not  have  fifty 
people  in  church,  but  to  my  surprise  when  I 
entered  the  higli  {)ulpit  of  that  grand  structure, 
and  looked  about,  I  found  a  congregation  of 
several  hundred  people  before  me.  Kain  was  no 
hindrance  to  them,  for  it  rains  here  one  hundred 
and  forty-eight  days  in  the  ycjir.  T  liavo  scidoiii 
seen   a  finer  looking  class  of  men  and   women. 


210        THE   CONVEKSION   OF  THE   MAOEIS. 

Every  face  indicated  strength  of  character  and 
robust  health.  They  were  good  listeners  and  ap- 
preciative worshipers.  I  felt  at  home,  and  en- 
joyed much  their  cordial  hand-shaking  at  the 
close  of  the  services. 

Dunedin  is  a  fine  commercial  city  of  forty- 
seven  thousand  inhabitants,  situated  at  the  head 
of  the  Otago  harbor,  about  seven  miles  from 
Port  Chalmers.  The  harbor  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  the  lower  harbor  is  six  miles  long  and  the 
upper  (from  Port  Chalmers  to  Dunedin)  is  seven 
miles  in  length.  The  two  towns  are  connected 
by  railroad.  Port  Chalmers  is  the  principal  sea- 
port of  the  province.  It  has  about  two  thousand 
people,  with  some  nice  residences.  The  business 
part  of  Dunedin  is  on  comparatively  level  land 
near  the  harbor;  the  residences  are  built  upon 
the  sloping  hills  which  rise  on  the  west  side  of 
the  town.  The  city  is  about  two  miles  and  a-half 
long  and  one  mile  wide.  Dunedin  was  the  first 
city  in  Australasia  to  use  the  American  cable 
system,  and  indeed  the  citizens  must  find  it  very 
serviceable,  running  up  and  down  their  steep 
hills,  which  remind  us  of  San  Francisco.  Trams 
run  on  the  level  streets  from  the  one  end  of  the 
town  to  the  other,  and  also  to  some  of  the  sub- 
urbs and  resorts.  There  are  some  very  fine 
buildings  scattered  throughout  the  city.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Otago  is  a  beautiful  structure,  also  the 


APPENDIX.  211 

Koman  Catholic  Cathedral,  and  Knox  Presbyte- 
rian Church.  The  First  Presbyterian  Church  is  a 
very  imposing  building  on  Moray  Hill,  built  of 
Oamaru  White  Stone.  The  Lunatic  Asylum, 
Grand  Hotel,  City  Hall,  Burns'  Monument  and 
Cargill  Fountain  are  all  substantial,  and  a  credit 
to  Dunedin.  The  dwelling  houses  are  nearly  all 
built  of  Avood,  and  Uxo  stories  high.  There  are 
some  excellent  stores  found  in  the  business  street. 
Many  of  the  streets  are  called  after  the  streets  of 
the  Scottish  capital.  It  is  just  fifty  years  since 
the  first  settlers  of  this  province  landed  at  Port 
Chalmers  from  the  ships  "John  Wy cliff"  and 
"  Philip  Lang,"  under  the  leadership  of  Captain 
"William  Cargill.  His  son,  Avho  is  the  present 
mayor  of  Dunedin,  a  few  months  ago  presidetl  at 
the  Jubilee  Festival  of  the  settlement  of  the  city. 
The  first  settlers  were  sent  out  from  Glasirow 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land in  1848.  Four  hundred  thousand  acres  of 
land  had  been  bought  from  the  Maoris  for  the 
colony.  The  first  settlors  were  blue  l*resbyteri- 
ans.  They  loved  the  Church,  and  endowed  it 
with  valuable  land,  and  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Otago  is  reaping  the  benefit  of  that  endow- 
ment to-day.  The  early  settlers  for  many  years 
endured  hardship  in  clearing  the  bush  and  jmc- 
paring  tin?  soil  and  struggling  for  existence. 
But  the  discovery  of  gold    by   (iabriel  Keid, 


212       THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

near  the  town  of  Lawrence  in  1861,  boomed  up 
the  whole  province.  Gabriel  Reid  one  day  dug 
with  his  knife  in  a  few  hours  £25  worth  of  gold. 
He  reported  his  discovery  to  the  superintendent 
of  the  province  and  he  received  £1,000  bounty. 

Hundreds  and  thousands  rushed  to  the  gold 
fields.  At  one  of  the  country  churches,  the 
whole  congregation  went  to  the  digging  except 
the  pastor  and  the  precentor.  It  is  said  of  one 
party,  that  when  crossing  a  river  their  dog  was 
swept  away  by  the  current  to  a  small  island  in 
the  middle  of  the  stream.  A  digger  went  to  res- 
cue the  dog,  and  there,  round  the  rock,  he  gath- 
ered in  a  short  time,  gold  dust  worth  £1,000.  Gold 
seekers  and  adventurers  came  from  Australia  and 
many  other  places.  Prices  advanced,  towns  in- 
creased, money  was  plentiful,  and  the  colony  be- 
came rich.  But  when  gold  was  found  in  AVest- 
land  in  1865,  and  in  other  parts  of  New  Zealand, 
many  left  for  these  places.  But  gold  is  still 
found  generally  throughout  Otago,  except  in  the 
southern  parts  of  it.  It  produces  about  one-third 
of  all  the  quantity  of  gold  taken  out  of  New  Zea- 
land. The  amount  of  gold  obtained  last  year 
amounted  to  eighty-seven  thousand  six  hundred 
and  ninety-four  ounces,  valued  at  £353,Y96. 

Dunedin  is  still  prosperous,  with  many  factories 
and  stores.  Of  late  years  the  bulk  of  the  trade 
of  New  Zealand  seems  to  be  going  to  Welling- 


APPENDIX.  213 

ton  as  being  more  central  and  easier  of  access 
for  deep  ocean  steamers.  Dunedin  has  excellent 
schools.  The  Otago  University  ranks  high.  The 
Boys'  and  Girls'  High  School  has  a  good  reputa- 
tion, as  well  as  the  Xormal  School  for  training 
teachers.  The  Scotch  characteristics  are  very 
marked.  The  inhabitants  bear  the  Scotch  stamp 
of  intelligence  and  shrewdness  in  their  de})ort- 
ment,  though  the  majority  of  them  never  saw  old 
Edinburgh.  My  visit  in  Dunedin  was  only  for  a 
few  days,  as  I  had  to  return  north  to  keep  an  en- 
gagement which  resulted  in  my  staying  some 
four  months  in  Otago,  and  during  that  time  I 
visited  various  towns  and  places  of  interest 
throughout  the  province,  preaching  nearly  every 
evening,  except  Satunhiy,  which  was  my  day  of 
traveling  and  rest.  The  first  two  months  were 
spent  at  Oamaru,  su))p]ying  the  pulpit  of  St. 
Paul's  Presbyterian  Church,  one  of  tlie  most  im- 
portant charges  in  the  province.  Oamaru  is  the 
third  town  in  size  to  Dunedin.  It  lias  six  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  it  is  about  seventy-live  miles 
north  of  Dunedin.  It  is  built  of  white  stone, 
which  is  found  in  the  neighborhood,  and  the  town 
goes  by  the  name  of  the  "White  City."  The 
buildings  arc  large,  but  many  of  them  are  unoc- 
cupied. This  rm(!  town  flourished  during  the 
gold  boom,  and  many  large  hotels,  halls,  hanks, 
and  stores  were  built  which  are  now  empty.     A 


214        THE   CONVERSION   OF  THE   MAORIS. 

breakwater  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  long,  with  an  inclosure  of  sixty  acres, 
was  also  erected  for  the  reception  of  ocean-going 
ships  which  has  unfortunately  bankrupted  the 
town. 

The  St.  Paul's  and  St.  Coluraba  Presbyterian 
churches  are  an  ornament  to  the  town.  Oamaru 
has  several  large  flour  mills,  a  freezing  establish- 
ment, capable  of  freezing  eight  hundred  sheej)  a 
day,  and  a  storage  room  for  twenty  thousand 
carcases.  A  very  long  and  Avide  street  passes 
through  the  center  of  the  town  with  some  excel- 
lent stores. 

The  country  for  many  miles  round  it,  is  rich 
and  beautiful.  It  produces  the  best  wheat,  oats 
and  potatoes  in  ISTew  Zealand.  The  average 
yield  of  wheat  in  1898  was  thirty-two  bushels 
per  acre,  of  oats  thirty-seven,  barley  thirty-three, 
and  rye  twenty-seven.  This  is  the  highest  in 
the  colony.  The  root  crops  were  also  very  heavy. 
From  twenty  to  fifty  miles  back  into  the  moun- 
tains is  a  great  grazing  country,  well  adapted  for 
sheep  and  cattle.  Some  of  the  runs  in  the  hill 
country  are  capable  of  carrying  twenty  thousand 
sheep.  In  fact  Otago  is  a  great  sheep-raising 
country.  The  total  number  of  sheep  in  the 
province,  including  Southland,  in  1898,  was  four 
million  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand  six 
hundred   and   sixty-one,  and  the  value  of  wool 


APPENDIX.  215 

clipped  in  the  district  in  the  year  1897  was  £750- 
OOU.  There  were  tifty-two  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  ninety-five  horses,  seventy-two  mules 
and  asses  ;  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  thousand 
five  hundred  and  ninety  cattle,  and  thirty-seven 
thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-six  pigs.  Eab- 
bits  are  a  severe  tax  on  the  stock  growers,  ac- 
cording to  the  official  handbook,  the  number  of 
skins  exported  last  year  for  the  whole  of  New 
Zealand  being  fifteen  million  two  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  four- 
teen, of  which  number  Otago  contributed  one- 
third. 

The  district  of  Otago  measures  one  hundred 
and  sixty  miles  from  Milford  Sound  on  the  west 
coast,  to  Waikonaiti  Bay  on  the  east  coast,  and 
the  same  distance  from  the  south.  Its  area  is 
nine  million  four  thousand  and  eight  hundred 
acres.  The  climate  v^aries ;  in  the  interior  it  is 
dry,  but  near  the  coast,  wet  and  cold  in  the 
winter.  Snow  is  seen  always  on  the  mountains. 
The  highest  land  is  to  the  northwest.  ]\Iount 
Aspiring  is  about  ten  thousand  feet  high.  The 
west  coast  mountains  are  rugged  and  majestic. 
There  are  sai<l  to  be  fifteen  sounds  that  adorn  the 
coast,  three  of  them  are  within  the  boundary  of 
Otago.  Mil  ford  Sound,  eight  miles  long,  has 
some  of  the  finest  scenery.  Fourt(H'n  miles  in- 
land from  its  Ih'imI  is  the  great  Sutlicrlaiid  Wnlcr- 


210        THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   MAORIS. 

full,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  four  feet 
high,  the  highest  waterfall  known.  Bligh  Sound, 
and  George  Sound  are  also  sights  of  beauty  and 
glory. 

In  the  North  island  are  the  Thermal  Springs, 
and  the  wonderful  geysers.  The  geyser  at  Ora- 
keikorako,  which  broke  out  in  1893,  is  reported  by 
those  who  have  seen  it  to  be  "  the  most  wonderful 
and  astounding  phenomenon  in  New  Zealand,  and 
for  power  and  grandeur  as  a  geyser,  second  to 
none  in  the  world."  There  also  are  the  Vol- 
canic Cones,  the  White  Terraces,  the  giant  tree, 
kauri  gum,  coal  and  gold  in  abundance ;  and  in 
the  South  island,  are  the  great  mountains,  the 
glaciers,  the  sounds  and  lakes  and  mountain  tor- 
rents, gold  and  coal,  the  pastoral  and  extensive 
agricultural  plains. 


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